Global stock markets rise after weak U.S. hiring data
BEIJING >> Global stock markets and Wall Street futures rose today after weak U.S. hiring in August fueled expectations the Federal Reserve might postpone withdrawal of economic stimulus that has boosted stock prices.
London and Frankfurt opened higher. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong rose.
Investors appeared to welcome Friday’s Labor Department report that U.S. employers added only 235,000 jobs in August, barely one-third of the consensus forecast of 730,000.
Investors hoped that might prompt the Fed to postpone a reduction in bond purchases that pump money into the financial system. Officials have indicated the Fed board might decide about that this month but wants to be sure a recovery is established, and say employment is a key factor.
“The weaker-than-expected jobs gains drastically reduce the chance of Fed tapering” at the September board meeting, Yeap Jun Rong of IG said in a report.
In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.5% to 7,172.03 and Frankfurt’s DAX advanced 0.6% to 15,869.96. The CAC 40 in Paris added 0.5% to 6,725.01.
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On Wall Street, futures for the S&P and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%.
The S&P 500 index fell 0.1% on Friday, but still was near a record high.
Also Friday, the Dow fell 0.2% while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% to a record.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.1% to 3,621.86 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 1.8% to 29,659.89. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1% to 26,163.63.
The Kospi in South Korea advanced less than 0.1% to 3,203.33 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 ended up less than 0.1% at 7,528.50.
India’s Sensex rose 0.3% to 58,312.88. New Zealand, Singapore and Jakarta gained while Bangkok retreated.
The weak U.S. hiring also prompted concern the spread of the coronavirus’s more contagious delta variant is hurting economic growth. It was well below the monthly average of more than 900,000 jobs added in June and July.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude fell 47 cents to $68.82 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract sank 70 cents on Friday to $69.29. Brent crude, the basis for international oil prices, lost 49 cents to $72.12 per barrel in London. It declined 42 cents the previous session to $72.61.
The dollar advanced to 109.89 yen from Friday’s 109.64 yen. The euro declined to $1.1869 from $1.1891.
