BOE took steps to contain Brexit fallout in week of stimulus Focus now shifts to U.S. payrolls as greenback weakens Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Stocks rose around the world and metals gained on speculation central bank stimulus measures will support the global economy. The dollar weakened before a report forecast to show growth in payrolls slowed to this year’s average pace. Miners led European shares to a third day of gains, while emerging markets extended their weekly advance as negative interest rates in Europe and Japan boost demand for riskier assets. Aluminum and zinc led metals higher. A measure of the dollar fell for the first time in three days and Treasuries were little changed. Vodafone Group Plc was offering the longest-maturity corporate bond in sterling this year after borrowing costs in the currency tumbled the most since May 2009. Traders are preparing for the monthly U.S. jobs report in a week that saw the Bank of England unveil a stimulus package while Japan and Australia took steps to shore up their economies. Analysts predict America’s employment market continued to improve at a pace that probably won’t trigger the Federal Reserve to push ahead with raising interest rates this year. “There’s a lot of hope that central banks can counter any downside to growth, especially after the Bank of England shot a pretty big torpedo yesterday,� said Dirk Thiels, head of investment management at KBC Asset Management in Brussels. “But anxiety about the economy can just as easily come back as it went away. It’s important that the U.S. holds strong, as that also helped bring optimism back to markets.� Stocks The MSCI All Country World Index rose 0.2 percent by 6:47 a.m. in New York, advancing for a second day. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 0.3 percent, with trading volumes 38 percent below the 30-day average on the final day of the week. S&P 500 Index futures increased 0.2 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group led a gauge of miners to the best performance of the Stoxx 600’s 19 industry groups. LafargeHolcim Ltd. jumped 5.1 percent as second-quarter earnings improved more than analysts had expected. Hugo Boss AG added 6.1 percent after the German fashion label posted better-than-expected revenue. Allianz SE slipped 3.7 percent after the insurer said second-quarter profit fell by almost half, missing analysts’ estimates. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc declined 5.4 percent after the British lender posted a larger loss than projected and gave no update on the planned sale of its Williams & Glyn consumer bank. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed 1.1 percent, bringing this week’s gain to 1.4 percent. Shares are headed for the fourth weekly advance in the longest winning streak since October. Currencies The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of its major peers, slipped 0.1 percent, leaving the gauge little changed on the week. The yen added 0.2 percent to 101.07 per dollar. In emerging markets, Malaysia’s ringgit and Russia’s ruble advanced at least 0.7 percent. Payrolls probably rose by 180,000 workers in July, following a 287,000-person increase in June, according to the median of economists’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The jobless rate is projected to fall to 4.8 percent, from 4.9 percent in the previous month. The Australian dollar climbed to a three-week high after the central bank gave no interest-rate guidance in its quarterly statement Friday and left its growth and inflation forecasts little changed. It reduced the benchmark rate to a record-low Tuesday. The pound strengthened 0.4 percent to $1.3155, following a 1.6 percent drop Thursday. While unveiling stimulus, BOE Governor Mark Carney said a negative rate path would be wrong. Commodities Aluminum and zinc rallied in the wake of losses on Thursday, climbing at least 0.4 percent in London. Gold for immediate delivery was up less than 0.1 percent at $1,361.64 an ounce, headed for a 0.8 percent climb in the week, the haven asset’s second straight weekly advance. Copper is headed for its first weekly decline in four as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecasts a “supply storm� is about to hit the market amid a pick-up in mine supply, lower production costs and softening demand growth. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 1 percent to $41.53 a barrel following a two-day, 6.1 percent rebound. U.S. government data Wednesday showed gasoline inventories decreased, while crude stockpiles unexpectedly rose for a second weekly gain. Both are at the highest seasonal level in at least two decades. Corn for December delivery headed for a 3.1 percent decline this week. November-delivery soybeans rose 1.2 percent to trim this week’s drop to 3.5 percent. Bonds Vodafone was marketing a 40-year sterling note, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to discuss it. The offer came after investment-grade borrowing costs in pounds fell 21 basis points to a record-low 2.31 percent, based on a Bank of America Merrill Lynch index. The cost of insuring investment-grade corporate debt in Europe was set for a sixth weekly decline, the longest run in almost 10 years. The Markit iTraxx Europe Index of credit-default swaps on highly rated companies fell one basis point on Friday to 68 basis points. A measure of swaps on junk-rated companies dropped four basis points to 319 basis points. Yields on 10-year Treasuries were little changed at 1.49 percent, after declining five basis points over the past two sessions. U.S. debt climbed with European bonds in the last session as the BOE’s move reinforced the trend for monetary easing globally. Wagers on a 2016 increase by the Fed have been cut to 37 percent from 59 percent two months ago.

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