Asian stocks advanced at Thursday's open, tracking gains in US peers after more evidence of a slowing job market boosted the case for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates next week. We speak to Mark Cranfield, Bloomberg MLIV Strategist.

In the states, data on Wednesday showed US companies shed payrolls in November by the most since early 2023, reinforcing concerns about a more pronounced labor market weakening. Swaps pricing indicated rising expectations for a December cut Wednesday, with traders assigning more than a 90% chance to a 25-basis-point reduction. Separately, US services activity expanded at a slightly faster pace, while a measure of prices paid dropped to a seven-month low. We speak to Adam Turnquist, Chief Technical Strategist at LPL Financial.