SYDNEY — Asia shares firmed on Monday as signs of progress in a trade standoff between the United States and Canada helped risk sentiment, while the dollar dipped on concerns U.S. jobs data will show enough weakness to justify larger rate cuts.
Canada on Sunday said it had rescinded its digital services tax in a bid to advance trade negotiations, bowing to pressure from President Donald Trump.
The talks are aimed at getting a deal done by July 21, extending Trump’s original July 9 deadline for his “reciprocal” tariffs. Officials have suggested most deals could now be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday.
Investors were also keeping a wary eye on the progress of a huge US tax-cutting and spending bill slowly making its way through the Senate, with signs it may not make it by Trump’s preferred July 4 deadline.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the nation’s debt, testing foreign appetite for US Treasuries.
There was no doubting the demand for the US tech sector and megacap growth stocks including Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon. Nasdaq futures rose another 0.4 percent, while S&P 500 e-minis added 0.3 percent.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.2 percent, while FTSE futures were flat and DAX futures gained 0.3 percent.
The bullish sentiment spilled over into Japan’s Nikkei which rose 1.6 percent, while South Korean stocks gained 0.8 percent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2 percent.
Chinese blue chips edged up 0.2 percent, as surveys showed manufacturing improved slightly in June while service activity picked up.
A holiday on Friday means US payrolls are a day early, with analysts forecasting a rise of 110,000 in June with the jobless rate ticking up to the highest in almost a year at 4.3 percent.
