Asian stocks ease and dollar firms ahead of jobs report, ruling on tariffs

Asian stocks drifted lower and the dollar stood tall on Friday ahead of a crucial jobs report, while investors girded for a Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariff that jolted markets last year.

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Simmering geopolitical tensions across the globe boosted oil prices, as well as defence stocks, and will remain in traders mind as they weigh developments in Venezuela after US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a dramatic military raid in Caracas on Saturday

Much of the focus on Friday will be on the possible US Supreme Court ruling on tariffs. Striking down the tariffs could impact government revenue, pushing Treasury yields higher and unleashing new waves of volatility across markets.

Kyle Rodda, senior financial markets analyst at Capital.com, said the Supreme Court ruling is the “real wildcard” for markets on Friday, noting that if the courts slap down US tariffs, it would be a big boost to market sentiment.

“A constraint may be that even if the tariffs are ruled unlawful, the Trump administration is unlikely to roll over and will look to other ways to maintain the levies.”

For now, traders remain reluctant to place bets ahead of the market moving events. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.38 in early trading, just below the record high it hit earlier in the week.

Japan's Nikkei was up 0.88, buoyed by the strong earnings and forecast from Fast Retailing, the operator of the Uniqlo clothing brand. European stock futures rose 0.48. The S&P 500 ended the day flat, although an aerospace and defence index rose to an all-time high, with European defence shares also hitting a new high.