* May US payrolls growth seen highest in 26 years on census
* Rebounding equities may find support from US jobs number
* Risks emanating from Europe still are large
(Repeats to more subscribers)
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, June 4 (Reuters) - The dollar steadied on Friday
and Asian stocks slipped on profit taking ahead of a report
expected to show the highest U.S. jobs growth since 1983,
supporting this week's wary move back into riskier assets.
More than two-thirds of the forecast 513,000 new jobs will
likely be temporary hires for the government census, giving
mixed signals to investors eager to take profits on their
bullish bets on the dollar, which hit a four-year high against
the euro on Tuesday. []
Financial bookmakers reckoned major European stock indexes
would open up as much as 0.5 percent ahead of the payrolls
report, which is used as a gauge of the U.S. economy. U.S.
stock futures <SPc1> drifted lower in calm trade.
Global equity markets and U.S. Treasury yields over the
past week have both recovered nearly a quarter of the losses
incurred over the last two months when the European sovereign
debt crisis triggered a scramble out of risk.
The U.S. payrolls report may provide a supportive role to
this rebound.
"There is talk of 600,000 jobs being added and that kind of
number will show that the U.S. economy is showing considerable
momentum," said Tony Morriss, senior currency strategist at ANZ
in Sydney.
Still, fears about tougher funding conditions in Europe and
the impact of spartan fiscal policy on growth may keep a heavy
lid on the nascent revival in risk taking.
Indeed, Hungary's ruling party on Thursday said the
country's finances were in much worse shape than previously
expected, an echo of recent warnings from Greece.
[]
The euro was largely unchanged from Thursday in New York at
$1.2178 <EUR=>, still trying to climb from an overnight low of
$1.2150. It touched a four-year low around $1.2110 on Tuesday.
The dollar was up 0.1 percent against the yen at 92.67 yen
<JPY=>. Speculation that Japan's next prime minister will be
more hawkish against yen strength has spurred traders to cut
their bets on the yen this week.
Finance Minister Naoto Kan was chosen as Japan's next prime
minister, the ageing and deeply indebted country's fifth
premier in three years. []
In equity markets, the MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks
outside Japan edged down 0.3 percent <.MIAPJ0000PUS>, weighed
mostly by profit taking in the materials sector after a surge
on Thursday.
The index is trading at 12 times forecast 12-month
earnings, the lowest valuation since March 2009, when the
latest bull market began. That kind of value is probably enough
to pull some investors back into the market, though uncertainty
over Europe could keep intraday volatility high.
Japan's Nikkei share average <> finished 0.1 percent
lower after posting its biggest single-day rise in six months
on Thursday. Shares of retailers were the biggest drag on the
index, while exporters and technology sector stocks offered
support.
The prospect of a new prime minister that would keep the
yen weak was seen as a plus for exporters, though it was still
too early to drive trading consistently.
"There's still a lot that's unknown -- who will be in the
cabinet, what the policies will be. That makes it hard for the
market to take it up as a factor," said Yutaka Miura, senior
technical analyst at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.
U.S. crude for July delivery slipped 0.4 percent to $74.34
a barrel <CLc1>. Oil is down nearly $12 in the last month.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies in TOKYO and Anirban Nag
in SYDNEY; Editing by Kazunori Takada)
