U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 224,000 jobs as in June, much more than the increase of 160,000 forecast by a Reuters poll of economists.
"A fabulous jobs report reduces the likelihood of a deep interest rate cut at the FOMC meeting in end July," said Margaret Yang Yan, Market Analyst at CMC Markets, a note.
Markets, however, have not completely ruled out a rate cut in the face of the unresolved Sino-U.S. tariff war, with the U.S. Federal Reserve promising to "act appropriately" to sustain economic growth. Global equities have rallied of late on hopes of stronger inflows after a cut from the Fed.
"Markets still priced in a 95% likelihood of a 25bps rate cut and 5% chance of a 50bps cut," said Yan, adding the market would look for further cues in Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony to the U.S. Congress on the economy later this week.
Singapore shares <.STI> fell the most in the region, losing more than 1% in their worst day of trading in almost two months.
Lenders DBS Group Holdings Ltd and United Overseas Bank Ltd fell as much as 1.1% each. Financials make up the largest sector on the Singapore index.
Indonesian stocks <.JKSE> were lower, weighed down by financial and consumer stocks. Bank Central Asia Tbk PT fell as much as 1.5%, while cigarette maker PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna Tbk fell as much as 2.45%.
An index of Indonesia's 45 most liquid stocks <.JKLQ45> fell 0.45%.
Philippine's benchmark index <.PSI> was dragged down by financials, with lender BDO Unibank Inc falling as much as 1.2%.
Malaysian stocks <.KLSE> were down about 0.4% after gaining about 0.6% over the last week. Telecom services providers Axiata Group Bhd and Maxis Bhd were down as much as 2.5% and 1.6%, respectively.
Thai stocks and Vietnam index <.VNI> were also lower.
(Reporting by Soumyajit Saha; editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
By Soumyajit Saha
