"Asian stocks struggled on Thursday as investors waited for stimulus-sensitive U.S. payroll data, although the euro perked up ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting".
The Australian dollar slipped after a weak labour force report showed a big fall in full-time employment -- undermining a popular view that the Reserve Bank of Australia has finished cutting interest rates.
All eyes will be on Friday's nonfarm payrolls data for a chance to gauge when the Fed might begin winding down its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying programme, which is linked to falling unemployment.
Before that, investors will look to the first reading of U.S. third-quarter GDP data later in the day. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a 2.0 percent annualised rate of growth compared with 2.5 percent in the second quarter.
Source: Reuters
