Stock Sell-Off Moderates, But Downside Threat Looms Large

The sharply negative close on Wall Street Thursday bled into the Asia-Pac session, resulting in -1% closes for Japanese, Chinese and Hong Kong exchanges. European markets and US stock futures have stabilised and sit slightly higher, although markets are lacking some conviction ahead of today's Nonfarm Payrolls release.

In Europe, real estate and utilities sectors are the worst off, while materials, industrials and consumer discretionary sectors are leading the way higher. In terms of individual performances, peripheral European banks are trading well, with Spain's CaixaBank and Banco de Sabadell both among the continent's best performers today.

US futures are generally higher, with the e-mini S&P higher by over 10 points, while the Dow Jones future holds 150 point gains at pixel time. NASDAQ continues to lag, however, indicating a negative open on Wall Street Friday.