(As of 7:15 am PST)
Global equity markets are
surging Friday as positive data around the world is helping to lift investor
confidence on what otherwise was a disappointing week. Asian markets kicked
things off early Friday with Chinese stocks rallying 2.28% after suffering one
the worst weekly performances since May 2010. Optimism carried over into Europe
as investors celebrated the election victory for the conservative party in the
U.K. European indexes were sharply higher across the board. In the US,
investors traded up the non-farm payrolls report which showed the private
sector added 223,000 jobs in April while the unemployment rate dropped to 5.4%,
the lowest level since May 2008. The
healthy jobs number was exactly what the market wanted, with most analysts
still expecting the Fed to raise interest rates later this year. Gold prices
are flat while oil is down slightly. If today’s rally can hold, it will put US
benchmarks on pace for weekly gains after what looked like dismal performance
earlier in the week.
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