Major Currencies Steady Before Jobs Data

Major currencies were little changed through the Asian session Friday as traders stayed on the sidelines ahead of the key U.S. unemployment report. EUR/USD had a range of $1.2811-$1.2836, while USD/JPY touched a low of JPY84.17.

On the week, the U.S. dollar was down against most of its major counterparts. Gains were led by the Norwegian krone and Swiss franc, both up around 1.5%, while the yen advanced 1.2% against the greenback. The only decline vs. the buck came from sterling among the majors, down 0.7% on the week.

Bank Indonesia kept its benchmark rate at 6.5%. Emerging market currencies were steady to higher overnight, with the Korean won the lead gainer on the session and on the week, up 0.5% and 1.9%, respectively vs. the dollar. Emerging markets forex gained on the week, with advances also for BRL, ZAR, ISK and PHP.

Asian stocks advanced, with the MSCI Asia Pacific index up 0.3% on the session and set for a 2.4% gain on the week. Sentiment was helped by the strong retail and home sales report Thursday in the U.S. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.6%, while the leading gainer in the region was Taiwan's Taiex, up 1.4%. Benchmarks advanced in Hong Kong, Korea, Australia and India.

European stocks edged higher, but futures on the U.S. markets were trading down.

European and U.S. bonds were steady, while Japanese debt declined amid the political wrangle for the country's political leadership. 10-year JGB yields rose 3 basis points to 1.135% overnight, and are up 14 basis points this week, the largest weekly gain since May 2008.

The U.S. two-year year note yield was steady at 0.5%, while the 10-year yield was at 2.62%, down 3 basis points on the week. European bonds opened steady, with Germany's 10-year bund yield at 2.28%. Currency Markets

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