Global stocks rose on Friday as investors welcomed a stronger-than-expected US jobs report, while political tensions in Italy eased, although prospects for a full-blown global trade war limited the gains.
The MSCI All-Country World index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, gained 0.74 per cent. Still, it was set for a third week of losses, brought on by earlier risks of a snap election in Italy, reports Reuters.
The robust US jobs report locked in expectations of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve this month and sent US stocks higher.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 223,000 jobs in May, while the average hourly earnings rose 0.3 per cent after edging up 0.1 per cent in April. The unemployment rate dropped to an 18-year low of 3.8 per cent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 203.69 points, or 0.83 per cent, to 24,619.53, the S&P 500 gained 25.8 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 2,731.07 and the Nasdaq Composite added 92.60 points, or 1.24 per cent, to 7,534.72.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes fell 19/32 in price to yield 2.8894 per cent, from 2.822 per cent late Thursday.
Italian stocks rallied 1.63 per cent, the standout performers in Europe. The political crisis knocked more than 9.0 per cent off the Italian benchmark in May, its worst month since June 2016.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 1.18 per cent.
Italian two-year yields, which soared to five-year highs above 2.7 per cent on Tuesday, rose in price on Friday to yield 1.038 per cent.
The US dollar climbed against the yen. The Canadian dollar rose 0.04 per cent and the Mexican peso gained 0.26 per cent versus the US dollar.
US crude fell 0.81 per cent to $66.50 per barrel and Brent was last at $76.80, down 0.98 per cent. The spread between Brent crude oil futures contracts and US WTI stood at its widest for three years.
