LONDON (Reuters) - Equity and commodity markets steadied ahead of U.S. jobs data on Friday, but were badly bruised after suffering their biggest slump in months on worries about growth, political unrest and looming U.S. interest rate rises.
Asian stocks had edged up overnight and there was a solid rebound for European bourses in early trading after Thursday's disappointment the European Central Bank wasn't more aggressive at its meeting triggered the biggest sell-off in over a year in markets like Italy.
Uncertainty about U.S. non-farm payrolls data due later in the day left traders set for a volatile session, as did lower volumes with several major centers, including India, China and Germany shut for public holidays.
Dollar bulls, who have pushed the currency to a 4-year high this week, were counting on the report to show U.S. employers stepped up hiring in September following some healthy signals already this week.
Economists polled by Reuters expect a 215,000 rise in jobs, up from a disappointing 142,000 in August and for the unemployment rate to stay steady at 6.1 percent.
"We do think the jobs report will be pretty good, if you look at the leading indicators they have improved quite a lot," said Kully Samra, a managing director at U.S. investment firm Charles Schwab in London.
Growth worries particularly in the euro zone and China, geo-political risks as well as concerns about the effects of the Federal Reserve unwinding its massive stimulus have all conspired to unsettle global equity markets in recent weeks.
MSCI's 45-country world stock index was up for the first time this week on Friday, but was on course for a weekly fall of 2.3 percent and down 6 percent in the last four.
HONG KONG CAUTION
The dollar index was last at 85.843, not far from the peak of 86.218 set earlier in the week. Against the yen, the dollar fetched 108.80, having reached a 6-year high of 110.09 on Wednesday. The euro traded at $1.2640, near a two-year trough of $1.2571 plumbed on Tuesday.
Asian markets were further underwhelmed on Friday after a survey showed growth in China's services sector eased last month.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.66 percent, but is still down more than 1 percent so far this week. It has fallen about 7.8 percent in the last four weeks, marking its worst performance in over a year.
"As we went into today, there was a risk this was going to happen. Traders were saying there was a bit of value in the market... today calmer heads prevailed," said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG.
Investors were also keeping a wary eye on developments in Hong Kong, whose leader Leung Chun-ying defied pro-democracy protesters' demands to step down by Friday.
Leung repeated police warnings that the consequences would be serious if protesters sought to surround or occupy government buildings.
COMMODITY CRUNCH
German bond yields edged higher as investors grappled with questions about the ECB's next moves and whether the expected rebound in the U.S. jobs data later will hasten interest rate rises in the world's biggest economy.
Commodity, particularly oil, markets have been the other hugely turbulent area over the last few weeks. Investors are struggling with divergent growth but also signs major producers like Saudi Arabia are being drawn into a price war.
Brent crude futures rose towards $94 a barrel after a three-day slide pulled prices to their lowest since 2012, but the overall tone remained bearish, amid ample supply. [O/R]
Copper prices CMCU3 also ticked up after hitting five-month lows the session before, Nickel trudged toward to a 13 percent monthly fall, while gold was poised for a fourth weekly loss in five.
Jonathan Barratt, chief investment officer at Ayers Alliance in Sydney said of the oil price: "I think the market will continue to push prices lower because of concerns over the glut, but I think the market is (also) being complacent about the risks."
"I feel there's a lot of geopolitical risk out there and it could get worse."
(Reporting by Marc Jones)
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