A roundup of trading on major world markets:
NEW YORK – Wall Street stock markets flat-lined on Friday as traders focused on the negatives in a mixed jobs report and worried about Europe’s ability to respond to a growing eurozone debt crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.61 point, or 0.01 per cent, to end the session at 12,019.42.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.73 point, or 0.03 per cent, to 2,626.93, while the S&P 500, a broader measure of the markets, slipped 0.3 point, or 0.03 per cent, to 1,244.28.
Equities had made substantial early gains but finished mostly flat, ending the best week for Wall Street in over two years.
The rally lost steam as investor focus shifted to the negative aspects of a jobs report, traders said.
The Labor Department said the unemployment rate dropped to a 32-month low of 8.6 per cent in November, surprising most analysts who had forecast it would hold steady at nine per cent.
But economists pointed to a sharp drop in the number of people looking for work, a main factor that lowered the jobless rate.
The economy created a net 120,000 jobs, close to forecasts and 20 per cent above October.
Banks continued to profit from hopes that Europe is getting a grip on the crisis.
Bank of America added two per cent, JPMorgan Chase jumped 6.1 per cent, Citigroup was up 4.4 per cent and Morgan Stanley soared seven per cent.
In the tech space, Zynga said it plans to raise up to $1.15 billion in a keenly awaited initial public offering that values the US online games giant at $7 billion.
A joint venture between Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks said it would sell wireless spectrum to Verizon Wireless for $3.6 billion.
Comcast surged 3.5 per cent and Time Warner Cable gained 4.7 per cent. Bright House is not publicly traded.
Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (up 0.2 per cent) and Britain’s Vodafone (down 1.5 per cent on the Nasdaq).
Blackberry maker Research in Motion plunged 9.7 per cent after warning it would miss its annual earnings target and that it would take a $485 million charge because of weak sales of its PlayBook tablet.
Google added 1.1 per cent after the Justice Department approved its $400 million purchase of online ad company Admeld.
LONDON – European shares rallied, boosted by optimism over a solution to the eurozone debt crisis at next week’s EU summit and a surprise drop in the US jobless rate, capping a week of sharp gains.
London’s FTSE-100 index of top companies gained 1.15 per cent to close at 5,552.29 points, posting a gain of 7.51 per cent over the week that also saw top central banks move to ease commercial banks’ access to dollars.
In Paris the CAC-40 rose 1.12 per cent to 3,164.95 points for a gain of 10.78 per cent over the week, its sharpest weekly rise since November 2008.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 put on 0.74 per cent on Friday to 6,080.68 points, a leap of 11 per cent for the week.
Milan rose 1.52 per cent and Madrid soared 1.63 per cent on Friday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a major speech on Friday that the eurozone was already taking steps to create a fiscal union.
President Nicolas Sarkozy declared on Thursday that France and Germany would push to give the European Union a new treaty to restore tough budgetary discipline in the debt-ravaged eurozone.
The French leader warned the developed world was entering a “new economic cycle” dominated by debt reduction, and thus of tough times ahead.
Sarkozy expressed confidence that the ECB would take extra action in a new climate of budget discipline, and said he would meet Merkel on Monday to agree upon and announce a joint plan to take to the EU summit on December 8 and 9.
HONG KONG – Hong Kong shares rose 0.2 per cent on Friday, adding to the previous day’s huge gains following coordinated action by six central banks to boost liquidity in financial markets.
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index was 38.13 points higher at 19,040.39 on turnover of HK$64.78 billion ($A8.17 billion).
The city’s benchmark index rose 7.6 per cent this week, boosted by the People’s Bank of China’s decision to cut its reserve requirement ratio for the first time in over three years.
Market proxy Hong Kong Exchanges was up 2.1 per cent at HK$132.60 due to improved trading volume this month, while banking heavyweight HSBC advanced 1.6 per cent to HK$61.60.
Edible oil producer Hop Hing jumped 59.1 per cent to HK$0.70, after announcing on Thursday that it had entered into an agreement with its parent to buy an operator of the Yoshinoya and Dairy Queen fast food chains in China.
But Shanghai fell 1.1 per cent.
The composite index, which covers both A and B shares, was down 26.20 points at 2,360.66 on turnover of 57.3 billion yuan ($9.1 billion).
The index shed 0.82 per cent for the week, a fourth week of losses.
WELLINGTON – New Zealand shares were mixed, with Chorus sinking as index-weighted institutions sold the phone network company as it fell out of key benchmarks following its split from Telecom.
Fletcher Building extended its gains from a two-and-half-year low.
The NZX 50 Index rose 5.07 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 3282.38. Within the index, 33 stocks fell, 13 rose and five were unchanged.
Turnover was $NZ83.8 million ($A64.28 million), with about two-thirds of that made up by Telecom and Fletcher.
