GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia's stock rally set to pause for breath ahead of U.S. jobs data

* Stock futures mixed in Asia
* U.S. dollar slide continues
* Euro maintains strength
* U.S. unemployment report in view

By David Henry
NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were set to hold
tight ranges on Friday after a mixed Wall Street session and as
investors awaited key U.S. jobs data while sustained hopes about
a global economic recovery kept pressure on the safe-haven
dollar.
The week's global equity rally lost some steam on Thursday
as traders took winnings from seven days of gains, backing away
ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls data, which is expected to
show further deterioration in the U.S. jobs market.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures YAPcm1 lost 0.2% in early
trading while Japan's Nikkei 225 futures NKc1 slipped 0.4%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures .HSI HSIc1 lost
0.55%.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 EScv1 rose 0.14%.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.6%, with the euro EUR= up
0.04% to $1.134.
"This market has gone up so far so fast there's a lot of
people saying, 'I'm going to take a little profit,'" said Jim
Paulson, chief investment strategist at The Leuthold Group in
Minneapolis.
MSCI's global stock index slipped 0.15% on Thursday, while
the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.34% and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
lost 0.69%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI held a
slender gain of 0.05% to 26,281.82.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost 0.72%.
Friday's U.S. employment report is expected to show nonfarm
payrolls fell in May by 8 million jobs after a record 20.54
million plunge in April, according to a Reuters survey of
economists.
The U.S. unemployment rate is forecast to rocket to 19.8%, a
post-World War Two record, from 14.7% in April. Currency markets, however, showed continued confidence in
the revival of the global economy, particularly after the
European Central Bank pledged more support.
The euro jumped to a 12-week high against the dollar on
Thursday after the ECB increased the size of emergency bond
purchases by 600 billion euros ($674 billion) to 1.35 trillion
euros, more than the 500 billion-euro increase analysts had
expected. The ECB also extended the program until at least June 2021
and pledged to reinvest returns in a reminder of how far some
governments will go to support the economy. "European policy makers have picked up the baton with
respect to more policy stimulus – both monetary and fiscal. This
is showing up more in currencies than it is in equities," Ray
Attrill, head of FX Strategy Markets at National Australia Bank
wrote to clients on Friday morning.
Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve holds its regular
two-day policy meeting.
The dollar index, =USD which measures the greenback
against a basket of major currencies, declined for the past two
weeks through Thursday as risk sentiment improved on optimism
that the worst of the economic downturn from the coronavirus has
passed.
The Australian dollar rose 0.07% versus the greenback to
$0.695. The Aussie, one of the best recent performers due to the
increase in risk appetite, on Thursday reached as high as
$0.6987, the strongest since Jan. 3.
Traders raising cash for riskier investments also sold
10-year U.S. Treasury notes for the fourth consecutive day on
Thursday, lifting the yield to 0.8251% from 0.761% the day
before. Oil prices were little changed in choppy trade as investors
awaited a decision from top crude producers on whether to extend
record output cuts. U.S. crude CLc1 recently fell 0.16% to
$37.35 per barrel and Brent LCOc1 was flat on the
day.
Spot gold XAU= added 0.2% to $1,713.09 an ounce.
Gold was up more than 1% for the day on Thursday as weakened
equity markets lent some support to demand for the metal.
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