Morning Market Roundup: Dismal Jobs Report, Pressure on Japan, Greek Violence Continues

Here’s what’s important in the financial world this morning:

Jobs: Treasury prices are shooting higher after a weak jobs report.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.08 percent from 2.18 percent after the Labor Department released its monthly employment survey. The price jumped 90.6 cents for every $100 invested.

Bond yields fall when their prices rise. That means more people are trying to buy the bonds, which are less risky than stocks and commodities. Investors tend to pile into Treasurys when they're worried about the economy.

Treasury yields also fell Wednesday and Thursday as traders worried that Spain could become the next European country to run into trouble with its debts.

The government said 120,000 net jobs were created in the U.S. last month, down from more than 200,000 in each of the three previous months

Asia: Societe Generale analysts believe Japan’s central bank will probably decide to ease monetary conditions after its two-day policy meeting which begins on Monday. They noted that the central bank has felt increasing political pressure to take a greater activist tact toward eliminating deflation, reported MarketWatch.

In a Societe General research note on Friday, Chief Japan Economist Takuji Okubo wrote there’s rising pressure on the Bank of Japan, including a legal reform proposal by the opposing Liberal Democratic Party that would allow Japan’s cabinet to have the authority to get rid of the central bank’s top dog should inflation drop below target.

HTC Corp.: The cellphone maker reported its lowest quarterly profit since 2006 when it began selling cellphones through its own brand. High competition and the slow global economy cut 70 percent of profits in the company’s unaudited first quarter net profit figure. The results were in line with analysts’ expectations but there is concern over increasing competition from Apple, Samsung, and Chinese brands.

EU: A second night of fights between Greece police and protesters took place on Thursday. The unrest comes after a senior citizen committed suicide after having his pension cut from austerity efforts. He joined three other people this week who also killed themselves due to financial challenges, reported Reuters.

Greece Prime Minister Lucas Papademos expressed sadness over the deaths and reportedly said he has asked his country and citizens to “support those next to us in desperation.”

[Editor’s note: portions of the above are from a cross post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet.]

The Associated Press contributed to the report.