Asian markets extended gains on Wednesday following a record day across Wall Street as fresh data pointing to a weakening US jobs market ramped up expectations for a series of Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Eyes are now on the release of consumer price index (CPI) figures later in the day that observers say could help guide the US central bank’s decision-making for the rest of the year.

Figures on Tuesday showed that the Bureau of Labor Statistics had revised down the number of new jobs in the 12 months through March by a record 911,000, suggesting the economy was slowing quicker than thought.

The reading came after news Friday of another big miss on August’s non-farm payrolls report.

Fed boss Jerome Powell last month indicated cuts were in the pipeline, having batted away long-running pre

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