By Sam Nussey

TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp shares jumped 5% in early Friday trade as the technology investor - which is preparing an initial public offering of chip designer Arm - was caught up in a frenzy for semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks.

The Japanese conglomerate, which has been hit by the slumping value of its tech portfolio, has seen its shares gain 17% since last week's close.

Still, they are up only 6.4% year-to-date, compared with 172% for U.S. chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) Corp - an expected beneficiary of investment in AI - and 39% in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index.

On Friday, SoftBank passed the psychological level of 6,000 yen for the first time since February.

"We expressed a view that SBG stock will rally ahead of the ARM IPO later in the year... But given (the) market's fascination for semi-stocks, we think it makes sense to move early," Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal wrote in a client note, upgrading his recommendation on the stock to "buy".

Other beneficiaries of enthusiasm for chip-related stocks included equipment makers Advantest Corp and Tokyo Electron Ltd, which have climbed 109% and 50% respectively year-to-date.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who has argued that the rise of artificial intelligence drives his investments, has also been caught up in recent enthusiasm for generative AI, which proponents compare to the arrival of the internet.

"He feels that 'finally my time has come'," SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto told reporters at an earnings briefing last month.

By Doyinsola Oladipo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Airbnb Inc on Thursday filed a lawsuit against New York City over a new law it called a "de facto ban" against short-term rentals set to go into effect in July, which the company says will limit the number of people who can host rentals in the city.

City councils around the United States are increasingly introducing ordinances to regulate short-term rentals. Some of them require hosts to obtain licenses and pay registration fees or limit short-term rentals in business districts.

The company's filing in the New York State Supreme Court says New York's city council, through legislation passed in 2022, effectively implemented "its most extreme and oppressive regulatory scheme yet, which operates as a de facto ban against short-term rentals in New York."

Airbnb, in a letter to hosts, said "today’s filing comes only after exhausting all available paths for a sensible solution with the City."

The law, according to the filing, will make it more difficult for hosts to do business, requiring them to register with the New York City Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) and to certify that they will comply with "the maze of complex regulations" for zoning, multiple dwelling law and housing maintenance code as well as construction code.

The short-term rental company is requesting that the court blocks the enforcement of "Local Law 18".

OSE application reviews will ensure "that only a miniscule number of hosts will ever be granted a registration," Airbnb said in the filing.

A New York City spokesperson said in a statement that the administration of Mayor Eric Adams "is committed to protecting safety and community livability for residents, preserving permanent housing stock, and ensuring our hospitality sector can continue to recover and thrive."

The Mayor's office said it will review the lawsuit.

Airbnb said that in the first week of July, more than 5,500 short-term rentals are reserved to host more than 10,000 guests in New York City.

The company said in the filing a previous law which went into effect in 2021 prompted 29,000 hosts to leave the short-term rental market in New York.

The number of short-term rental listings available in New York City increased 27% year-over-year in April 2023 but listing counts are 32% below 2019 levels, according to short-term rental analytics company AirDNA.

"The vast majority of listings in New York are either private or shared rooms, commercial properties, or listings that only support long-term stays," said AirDNA Chief Economist, Jamie Lane.

Airbnb’s annual net revenue in New York City in 2022 was $85 million, according to the filling.

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job growth likely slowed in May, with wages coming off the boil, potentially allowing the Federal Reserve to skip an interest rate hike this month for the first time since embarking on its aggressive policy tightening campaign more than a year ago.

Nevertheless, the Labor Department's closely watched employment report on Friday is expected to still show the labor market remaining tight. The unemployment rate is forecast climbing to 3.5% from 3.4% in April but the report will confirm that the economy remained far away from a dreaded recession, though more pockets of weakness are emerging.

"The jobs report is likely to show another step down in the pace of growth, but still a very strong labor market," said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Bank in Dallas. "The Fed is under less pressure to raise interest rates at its meeting this month, than at any time over the last year and a half."

The survey of establishments is likely to show nonfarm payrolls increased by 190,000 jobs last month after rising 253,000 in April, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

It would mark a slowdown from the monthly average of 285,000 in the first four months of this year, but stay well above the 70,000-100,000 needed per month to keep up with growth in the working-age population.

Data for March and April would be closely watched for revisions. The government lowered employment gains in February and March by a combined 149,000 last month.

Despite massive layoffs in the technology sector after companies over-hired during the COVID-19 pandemic and the drag from higher borrowing costs on housing and manufacturing, the services sector, including leisure and hospitality, is still catching up after businesses struggled to find workers over the last two years. Industries like healthcare and education also experienced accelerated retirements.

The backfilling of these retirements and increased demand for services are some of the factors driving job growth. Pent up demand for workers was underscored by Labor Department data this week showing there were 10.1 million job openings at the end of April, with 1.8 vacancies for every unemployed person.

But cracks are emerging. A Conference Board survey on Tuesday showed the share of people viewing jobs as "plentiful" dropped in May to the lowest level since April 2021.

While the Fed's "Beige Book" report on Wednesday described the labor market as having "continued to be strong" in May, it noted that "many contacts" were "fully staffed," and some "were pausing hiring or reducing headcounts."

Temporary help employment, a harbinger for future hiring, is down by 174,000 since its peak in March 2022.

PROGRESS ON INFLATION

But the overall labor market remains upbeat, with first time applications for state unemployment benefits hovering at very low levels. Most economists expect payrolls growth to continue at least through the end of the year.

Average hourly earnings are expected to have risen by 0.3% after jumping 0.5% in April, which was attributed to a calendar quirk. That would keep the year-on-year increase in wages unchanged at 4.4% in May. Annual wage growth averaged about 2.8% prior to the pandemic.

Slowing wage inflation is corroborated by other measures like the Atlanta Fed's wage tracker, which has come off its peaks. Government data on Thursday showed sharp downward revisions to unit labor costs in the first and fourth quarters.

"We're making progress on inflation, you can't expect the inflation problem to go away in a year," said Brian Bethune, an economics professor at Boston College. "It doesn't make sense to push the economy into some kind of artificial recession, because you're going to do more harm than good."

Financial markets see a nearly 70% chance of the Fed keeping its policy rate unchanged at its June 13-14 meeting, according to CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch Tool. The Fed has raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by 500 basis points since March 2022.

The average workweek is forecast unchanged at 34.4 hours. Some companies are probably reducing hours rather that cut jobs.

The household survey from which the unemployment rate is calculated is likely to show solid employment gains, though an ongoing strike by 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America poses a downward risk. The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the employment report, did not record the work stoppage in its May strike report.

"Those striking workers could show up as unemployed in the household survey, however," said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York.

The labor force participation rate, or the proportion of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one, was likely unchanged at 62.6% after a recent surge in participation in the prime age group.

By Ankur Banerjee

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks surged on Friday as the progress on the bill to raise U.S. debt ceiling and increasing hopes that the Federal Reserve might stand still on interest rates in its next meeting helped perk up investor appetite for risky assets.

The U.S. Senate is on track to pass a bill to lift the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling late on Thursday in Washington, Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, after the House of Representatives passed the bill on Wednesday.

The Treasury Department has warned it will be unable to pay all its bills on June 5 if Congress fails to act.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan spiked 1.13% higher. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.57%, while Japan's Nikkei was 0.71% higher.

China shares have been hamstrung by worries over stuttering post COVID-19 recovery. The Shanghai Composite Index was set to open 0.2% higher while, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was set to open up 2% higher.

Data overnight showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased modestly last week and private employers hired more workers than expected in May, pointing to continued labour market tightness.

Harry Ottley, an economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY), said the signs of slowing wage pressure has raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will pause raising interest rates in two weeks.

Traders have steadily dialled back their bets on the Fed raising interest rates in two weeks, with markets pricing in a 20% chance of the central bank hiking by 25 basis points compared to 50% chance a week earlier, according to CME FedWatch tool.

"Investors were also buoyed by news that the U.S. House of Representatives had passed a U.S. debt ceiling bill in a crucial step to avoid a U.S. default, with the measure moving to the US Senate," CBA's Ottley said.

Focus now shifts to the Labor Department's closely watched unemployment report for May, due on Friday. The data will help determine whether the Fed sticks with its aggressive rate hikes.

Comments from Fed officials also helped embolden Fed pause hopes, with Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker saying U.S. central bankers should not raise interest rates at their next meeting.

"It's time to at least hit the stop button for one meeting and see how it goes," Harker said.

Overnight, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed at their highest since August 2022 as investors embraced a resilient labor market amid optimism the Fed can engineer a soft economic landing.

U.S. Treasury yields also fell on Thursday. In early Asian hours, the two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was up 0.6 basis points at 4.347%, having slipped around 5 basis points on Thursday.

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was up 0.2 basis points to 3.610%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was down 0.6 basis points to 3.829%.

In the currency market, the dollar index, which measures U.S. currency against six major peers was flat after dropping 0.6% overnight, with the euro up 0.01% to $1.0762.

The Japanese yen weakened 0.11% to 138.93 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.2527, up 0.02% on the day.

U.S. crude eased 0.01% to $70.09 per barrel and Brent was at $74.26, down 0.03% on the day.

Spot gold dropped 0.1% to $1,976.69 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.05% to $1,977.10 an ounce.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's independent wage-setting body said on Friday it would raise the minimum wage by 5.75% from July 1, as families grapple with soaring living costs.

The lowest-paid employees will receive A$22.61 ($15.34) an hour from July 1, according to Reuters calculations based on the current rate of A$21.38. The decision from the Fair Work Commission would affect more than 2 million workers.

"The level of wage increase we have determined is, we consider, the most that can reasonably be justified in the current economic circumstances," said the Commission in a statement.

"In our consideration, we have placed significant weight on the impact of the current rate of inflation on the ability of modern award-reliant employees, especially the low paid, to meet their basic financial needs."

Some economists have feared that a sizeable increase could set a benchmark for other wage expectations and complicate the Reserve Bank of Australia's job of returning inflation back to 2-3% target range.

So far, aggregate wage growth - which accelerated to a decade-high of 3.7% last quarter - has lagged forecasts, with Governor Philip Lowe warning of upside risks to wages from weak productivty growth, rather than nominal wages.

($1 = 1.4743 Australian dollars)

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's central bank purchased $451 million of foreign currency on Wednesday to bolster its dwindling hard currency reserves, after daily sales from farm exports topped $1 billion, providing some relief for the country's hard-hit finances.

The currency move on Wednesday marks the biggest such purchase since late December.

In May, the central bank bought a total of $855 million, according to traders consulted by Reuters, the largest monthly purchase of greenbacks since last September.

The government has incentivized grains exports - Argentina's main source of dollars - in the last two months with a preferential exchange rate, helping bring in over $5 billion in total. That measure formally ended on Wednesday.

The South American country's prolonged economic slump has taken a toll on the bank's foreign currency reserves, which are needed to pay down debt as well as to finance many imports.

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Casino revenues in Macau, the world's biggest gambling hub, surged 366% from a year ago to total 15.6 billion patacas ($1.93 billion) in May, the highest since January 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had still to fully grip China.

The monthly take was bolstered by a five-day national holiday that saw hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to the special Chinese administrative region, which is the only place in China where citizens can legally gamble in casinos.

China lifted strict COVID-19 restrictions in January, allowing visitors to swarm into Macau for the first time in more than three years.

Around 500,000 people visited the former Portugues colony during the five day Labour Day holiday at the start of May, crowding onto its pastel coloured streets surrounding historical sights Senado Square and the Ruins of St Paul's and packing its glitzy casinos.

Authorities are keen to diversify sources of income in Macau, which depends on casinos for more than 80% of its government revenues, and have imposed strict new regulations on its six casino operators.

The rush of visitors comes as the densely populated territory grapples with an acute labour shortage, a key concern for casino operators Sands China (OTC:SCHYY), Wynn Macau (OTC:WYNMF), MGM China (OTC:MCHVY), SJM Holdings (OTC:SJMHF), Galaxy Entertainment and Melco Resorts.

Sands last week officially opened its "Londoner" casino resort which includes a 6,000 seat arena and attractions like a replica of London's Big Ben clock tower.

It was the first big casino opening since the COVID pandemic and was attended by former England football captain David Beckham who drew scores of fans to the property.

($1 = 8.0840 patacas)

By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO (Reuters) - Most Asia-Pacific stock markets rose on Thursday amid receding bets for a U.S. rate hike this month and relief over the passage of the U.S. debt ceiling bill through the House.

The dollar sagged to a one-week low versus the yen and hung close to Wednesday's more-than-two-month trough to the euro after Federal Reserve officials including Governor and vice chair nominee Philip Jefferson pointed to a rate hike "skip" at the June 13-14 policy meeting.

Treasury yields rose slightly from nearly two-week lows.

Crude oil prices edged off four-week lows following a surprise swing back to growth in a private survey of Chinese factory activity, with an OPEC+ meeting looming on the weekend.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares gained 0.45%, rebounding after touching the lowest level since March 22 in the previous session.

Japan's Nikkei added 0.29%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.5% and mainland Chinese blue chips advanced 0.53%.

A divided House passed a bill to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling - and avert a catastrophic default - with majority support from both Democrats and Republicans, stoking optimism that it can move through the Senate before the weekend.

"This has gone through with a very big majority, so there's enough bipartisan support that it's very hard to believe this isn't going to be even more of a formality in the Senate," said Ray Attrill, head of foreign-exchange strategy at National Australia Bank (OTC:NABZY).

""What this does is it turns the attention to the incoming data and the Fed meeting this month," Attrill added.

Money markets currently lay about 38% odds for a hike on June 14, swinging back from about 70% earlier in the day, after some unexpectedly hot jobs numbers.

However, shortly after, the Fed's Jefferson said skipping a rate hike in two weeks would provide policymakers time to see more data before making a decision. Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker also said on Wednesday that for now he is inclined to support a "skip" in rate hikes.

The dollar was little changed at 139.435 yen after slipping to the lowest since May 25 at 138.96 earlier in the session.

The euro was flat at $1.06905. It sank as low as $1.0635 on Wednesday for the first time since March 20.

Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields edged up to 3.6655% in Tokyo, after dipping to 3.6140% overnight for the first time since May 18.

Brent crude futures for August delivery rose 46 cents, or 0.63% to $73.06 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) added 40 cents, or 0.59%, to $68.49 a barrel.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to approve a bipartisan bill to suspend the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, just five days before the deadline to avoid a crippling default.

Voting continued on the legislation, which must also be approved by the Democratic-majority Senate before President Joe Biden can sign the measure into law.

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan and the United States will sign the first deal under a new trade talks framework on Thursday, both governments said, boosting ties between the two at a time of heightened tensions with China over the democratically-governed island.

Taiwan and the United States started talks under what is called the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade last August, after Washington excluded Taiwan from its larger pan-Asian trade initiative, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations said in a brief statement the first agreement under the framework would be signed in Washington on Thursday morning U.S. time, but gave no other details.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office said Deputy United States Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi would attend the event, but also did not elaborate.

Last month, the two sides reached agreement on the first part of their trade initiative, covering customs and border procedures, regulatory practices, and small business.

After the initial agreement is signed, negotiations will start on other, more complicated trade areas including agriculture, digital trade, labour and environmental standards, state-owned enterprises, and non-market policies and practices, the USTR has previously said.

The pact is not expected to alter goods tariffs, but proponents say it will strengthen economic bonds between the United States and Taiwan, open the island to more U.S. exports, and increase Taiwan's ability to resist economic coercion from China.

Beijing has denounced the trade talks as it does with all forms of high level engagement between Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory, and the United States.

Taiwan strongly rejects China's sovereignty claims, which Beijing has been trying to push on Taipei through repeated military activities including war games around the island.