A roundup of trading on major world markets:
NEW YORK – Wall Street stocks have risen on easing concerns about Federal Reserve interest rate increases and as petroleum-linked equities surged on higher oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday jumped 117.61 points (0.66 per cent) to 17,880.85.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 13.66 (0.66 per cent) to 2,080.62, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 30.38 (0.62 per cent) to 4,917.32.
William Dudley, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, on Monday told a New Jersey gathering that a disappointing March jobs report suggests that first-quarter growth “is likely to be quite weak”.
Dudley said the timing of Fed interest rate hikes is “uncertain” and will remain dependent on economic data.
LONDON – European equity markets closed mixed ahead of the long Easter holiday weekend and on the eve of crucial US jobs data.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies ended Thursday up 0.35 per cent to 6,833.46 points and the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.24 per cent to 5,074.14 points.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index dipped 0.28 per cent to 11,976.39 points erasing Wednesday’s gains, hit partly by ongoing worries over Greece.
All three main European stock markets will remain closed on Friday and Monday for public holidays, before reopening for business on Tuesday.
The euro rose to $US1.0874 from $US1.0760 late in New York on Wednesday.
HONG KONG – Tokyo shares ended lower while the yen climbed against the US dollar following a worse-than-expected US jobs report seen as making an early US rate rise more unlikely.
With several major markets shut for public holidays and Wall Street closed Friday, trading was thin with few catalysts to spur business.
Tokyo fell 0.19 per cent, or 37.10 points, to 19,397.98 and Seoul was flat, edging up 1.01 points to close at 2,046.43.
Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Taipei, Sydney and Wellington were closed.
The US Labor Department’s monthly non-farm payrolls report on Friday showed just 126,000 new jobs were created in March, half of what was expected and the weakest growth since December 2013.
WELLINGTON – The NZX 50 Index eased back 4.188 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 5831.395 on Thursday.
