It's all about the United States and Canadian jobs early Friday as both countries release a stream of labor market readings at 8:30 a.m. ET, said Scotiabank.
That makes current market positioning relatively "fragile" as markets await the results, noted the bank.
For what it's worth, the US dollar (USD) is broadly softer except against some of the Southeast Asian crosses again, as South Korea's won (KRW) and Malaysia's ringgit (MYR) continue to depreciate, pointed out Scotiabank.
Sovereign yields are little changed across global benchmarks. Stocks are playing defense in North America as futures slip by between 0.25% and 1%, with tech leading the decliners, while European cash markets are mostly up "a bit," stated the bank.
Oil prices are little changed, it added.
Other Thursday overnight developments were "very light," according to Scotiabank. Japanese real wage growth picked up to 1.9% year over year in April from 1% prior, which will encourage the Bank of Japan as it's the fastest in about five years, but with the impact of commodities and inflation still ahead.
The Reserve Bank of India held its repo rate unchanged at 5.25% against a minority of forecasters who thought the RBI might hike.