World stocks climb, treasury yields near unchanged


FE Team | Published: May 05, 2018 11:15:16 | Updated: May 09, 2018 10:48:36


Representational image (Collected)

World stock indexes climbed and US Treasury yields were near unchanged on Friday after weaker-than-expected US wage growth helped to calm the investor fears.

Gains in shares of Apple helped US stocks after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway raised its stake in the iPhone maker, reports Reuters.

The Labour Department’s closely watched report showed non-farm payrolls increased by 164,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate was at 3.9 per cent.

However, wages edged up only 0.1 per cent, easing concerns that inflation pressures were increasing.

The US central bank on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged and said it expected annual inflation to run close to its “symmetric” 2.0 per cent target over the medium term.

Yields on US benchmark 10-year notes and 30-year yields earlier slid to two-week lows, while those on two-year notes fell to a one-week trough.

Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 5/32 in price to yield 2.9628 per cent, from 2.946 per cent late on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 255.5 points, or 1.07 per cent, to 24,185.65, the S&P 500 gained 25.36 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 2,655.09 and the Nasdaq Composite added 98.48 points, or 1.39 per cent, to 7,186.63.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.62 per cent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.57 per cent.

The US dollar rose to its highest levels this year against a basket of currencies despite the weaker-than-expected jobs data. The dollar index jumped to 92.90, the highest level since Dec. 28.

The dollar index rose 0.35 per cent, with the euro down 0.46 per cent to $1.1932.

In the oil market, US crude rose 1.4 per cent to $69.39 per barrel and Brent was last at $74.58, up 1.3 per cent on the day.

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