INS: US Jobs Data Beats Forecasts, Lifting Dollar and Stocks
The Nikkei surged 1.7% to 9930, after rising as high as 10008, as approval of a debt swap by Greece’s private debt holders helped relieve investor anxiety. Exporters led the gains as the yen fell to a 9-month low, with Sony and Mazda each up more than 4%. The Kospi climbed .9%, and the ASX 200 gained 1%. In China, weaker than expected inflation data lifted stocks, with the Shanghai Composite settling up .8%, and the Hang Seng up .9%.
European markets gained moderately, lifted in the afternoon by upbeat US jobs data. The DAX advanced .7%, the FTSE climbed .5%, and the CAC40 rose .3%.
US stocks edged up, but concerns over a Greek “credit event” limited gains. The Dow tacked on 14 points to 12922, the Nasdaq gained .6% to 2988, and the S&P 500 rose .4% to 1371. Small cap stocks outperformed, as the Russell 2000 jumped 1.3% to 817. Greece forced all bond holders to accept the debt haircut, triggering payments on credit default swaps, but the event was largely expected.
The US economy added 227K jobs, 17K more than expected, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 8.3%.
Starbucks shares hit a new record hih, climbing 2.9% to 51.84 after announcing a single serve coffee machine. Competitor, Green Mountain, tumbled 15.7% on the news.
Treasuries and Commodities
Bonds posted narrow losses despite the strong jobs data. 10-year notes eased 4/32 to yield 2.03%, and 30-year notes edged down 2/32 to yield 3.18%.
Energy and metals advanced on growing signs the US economy is in the midst of a solid recovery. Oil gained .8% to 107.40, natural gas jumped 2.3% to 2.324, and gasoline closed up .6% to 3.3324.
Copper surged 1.8% to 3.8585, silver climbed 1.1% to 34.212, and gold gained .8% to 1711.50.
Currencies
The Dollar powered higher against most global currencies. In Europe, the Swiss Franc sank 1.2% to 1.0886, the Euro slumped 1.1% to 1.3122, and the Pound fell 1% to 1.5676. The Yen dropped 1.1% to 82.45, while the Australian Dollar slipped .7% to 1.0575. Bucking the trend, the Canadian Dollar traded flat, settling at .9906.
The US trade deficit hit $52.6 billion last month, significantly larger than the $48.9 billion forecast. Wholesale inventories rose a mere .4%, below expectations.
On Monday, earnings are due from Magic Jack and Urban Outfitters. No major economic reports are scheduled.
