Asian equities edged lower and the dollar remained firm as investors turned cautious ahead of key U.S. events, led by the December jobs report and a highly anticipated Supreme Court decision on the legality of broad U.S. tariffs. With markets already sensitive to policy uncertainty, the potential ruling is seen as a major source of volatility, as any change to tariff policy could affect government revenues, bond yields and overall risk sentiment. Geopolitical tensions, particularly linked to Venezuela, continued to support oil prices and defence-related stocks, while broader equity moves remained restrained.

In Asia, markets were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei outperforming on strong corporate earnings, while regional benchmarks hovered just below recent highs. U.S. equities closed largely flat, though defence shares reached record levels, reflecting ongoing geopolitical risks. Attention is firmly on the U.S. labour market, where payroll growth is expected to remain subdued, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep rates on hold in the near term. With at least two rate cuts still priced in by markets this year, investors are balancing resilient growth signals against policy and legal uncertainties that could drive