NEW YORK:Global shares rose on Friday, hitting an all-time high on lift from a better-than-expected U.S. monthly jobs report that signaled a strong end to the second quarter in the world’s largest economy.
There were weak spots in the jobs report, including a slight uptick in the U.S. unemployment rate, and the dollar dropped from a three-month high.
Data showed U.S. job growth accelerated in June as nonfarm payrolls increased by 850,000 jobs after rising by 583,000 in May, although the unemployment rate rose to 5.9% from 5.8% the previous month. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls advancing by 700,000 jobs.
The MSCI All Country World index closed at 725.41, up 0.39% on the day. The pan-European STOXX 600 index settled 0.26% higher. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs.
Still, there were signs of caution in various corners of the market due to the continuing spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant and concerns over a potentially more hawkish Fed. [nL2N2OE1OW]
The benchmark U.S. 10-year yield fell and gold edged higher to close out the week. [GOL]
“I think the market is torn between whether to price in the market outlook or the Fed reaction,” said Priya Misra, head of global rates strategy for TD Securities in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 152.82 points, or 0.44%, to 34,786.35, the S&P 500 gained 32.4 points, or 0.75%, to 4,352.34 and the Nasdaq Composite added 116.95 points, or 0.81%, to 14,639.33. [.N]
The benchmark 10-year yield was down 3.9 basis points at 1.4407%. Euro zone government bond yields fell, as investor fears over the rise in COVID-19 cases outweighed strong U.S. data. Germany’s 10-year bond yield, the euro zone benchmark, dropped to -0.24%, its lowest since mid-June.
The dollar slipped from a three-month high, pressured by the weaker details of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.
U.S. employment remains about 6.8 million jobs below its peak in February 2020. There are a record 9.3 million job openings. The dollar index fell 0.375 points or 0.4% to 92.222.
The Japanese yen was last down 0.39 percent, at $111.0600.
While prospects of a strong economic recovery underpinned equity markets, investors remain nervous that a sharp recovery from the pandemic could boost inflation to an uncomfortable level for the Fed.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has said massive U.S. fiscal spending will set off inflationary pressures not seen in a generation. Others argue that until wage pressures return in force, a return to 1970s-style inflation is unlikely.
Spot gold prices rose $4.71 or 0.27%, to $1,781.31 an ounce.
OPEC+ resumed talks on raising oil output a day after the United Arab Emirates blocked a deal. The standoff could delay plans to pump more oil through the end of the year to cool prices that have soared to 2-1/2 year highs.
Oil prices ended the week mixed. Brent crude settled up 33 cents, or 0.44%, and U.S. crude settled down 7 cents, or 0.09%. [O/R]
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