Global Stocks Rise as US Jobs Data Eases Rate Hike Fears, Oil Prices Surge
Global stocks continued their upward trend, with Asian shares following Wall Street's lead after soft US jobs data eased expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike. The MSCI All Country World Index rose 0.1%, its seventh advance in the past eight sessions, while the MSCI's Asian gauge gained 0.4%. The S&P 500 Index hit an all-time high on Friday, and futures contracts indicated modest gains for US gauges.
Oil prices also rose, with Brent crude increasing by 0.5% to around $84 a barrel, extending a rally of more than 5% over the previous three sessions. The strengthening oil prices led to a slight increase in the 10-year yield to 4.66%, while the dollar gained against most of its Group-of-10 peers.
The jobs report showed an unexpected decline in employment, with hiring in the prior two months revised lower. This has reduced the likelihood of a rate hike at the Fed's September meeting to around 43% from 64% previously. Investors are now focusing on US consumer price data due this week and rebuilding positions in technology stocks.