• Stocks in Asia were set for a mixed start to September after a muted session on Wall Street as traders await Friday’s jobs reading to gauge the outlook for Federal Reserve policy. Bond yields fell and the dollar strengthened.
• Futures for equity benchmarks in Japan and Australia pointed to declines, while those for Hong Kong showed a slight increase. Futures for the S&P 500 were little changed after the index closed lower on Thursday to notch its first monthly slide since February. Treasury 10-year yields extended their retreat after recently hitting levels last seen in 2007 while an index of the dollar had its best month since February.
• Concerns that the Fed will keep interest rates higher for longer to prevent a flare-up in price pressures has taken the wind out of equity markets around the world, adding to worries about China’s faltering economic growth.