S&P futures little changed as hiring rises, wages slip Lula arrest sees Brazilian real, markets push higher Share on Facebook Share on Twitter U.S. stocks fluctuated, while the dollar fell with Treasuries as investors weighed a surge in hiring that came with negative wage growth, clouding the path of monetary policy. Emerging markets extended their best week since October. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index swung between gains and losses near the highest level in eight weeks as the it heads for a third weekly gain. The dollar fell on the drop in wages, while yields on 10-year Treasuries climbed to the highest in a month. A gauge of emerging-market currencies erased losses for the year, with Brazil’s real jumping amid speculation of a change in government. The jobs report adds to a string of data showing that the U.S. economy continues to strengthen, though at a pace not strong enough to force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its policy meeting in March. Global equities have recouped more than half of this year’s losses since sinking to a 2 1/2-year low on Feb. 11, as speculation central banks from Asia to Europe stand ready to boost stimulus. China may announce its plans to revive growth at this weekend’s annual meeting of the National People’s Congress. “The reaction would be more bullish if we hadn’t run up so much going into this report,� said Nick Kalivas, senior equity product strategist at Invesco PowerShares in Downers Grove, Illinois, which has about $100 billion in its funds. “This is a constructive number for the market. This gives investors some confidence in growth going forward.� Equities The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.1 percent at 9:31 a.m. in New York, poised for a weekly gain of more than 2 percent. The index has rallied 9 percent from a 22-month low on Feb. 11 and is now lower by 2.5 percent for the year. Today’s report showed employers added more workers in February than projected though wages unexpectedly declined. The jobless rate held at 4.9 percent. Bigger wage gains are needed help move inflation closer to the Fed’s goal. Futures traders put the odds of the second interest rate hike since December at 6 percent for the Fed’s March meeting, though projections for later in the year continue to rise, with the September meeting showing a greater than 50 percent likelihood. “People are looking at stronger data, but then they start to worry about raised rates -- there’s a little hesitation there,� said Frank Ingarra, head trader at Greenwich, Connecticut-based NorthCoast Asset Management LLC, which has $3 billion under management. “Everyone is wondering if the U.S. is going to start diverging from the rest of the world, and it breeds nervousness. It makes sense that we’re not seeing a screaming high.� The Stoxx Europe 600 advanced 0.6 percent, heading for a third weekly gain, its longest such streak since October, amid rallies in miners, carmakers, energy producers and banks. A gauge of commodity producers posted the best performance of the 19 industry groups on the index, advancing for a sixth day as Glencore and Anglo American Plc surged. Emerging Markets The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 1.2 percent, set for a 6.7 percent weekly advance. Brazil’s real headed for the best week since October 2008 and the Ibovespa jumped in Sao Paulo after the federal police raided the house of Lula, fueling speculation that support will grow to impeach his mentee and successor, President Dilma Rousseff. While markets have been split in the past about whether a Rousseff ouster would be good or bad, many now say it may be the only way out of political quagmire. China’s intervention helped the nation’s benchmark index cap its best weekly gain of 2016 before policy makers meet to approve a five-year road map for the economy. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5 percent, reversing an earlier decline of 1.8 percent and extending this week’s gain to 3.9 percent. State-backed funds bought primarily bank shares, while some local branches of the securities regulator asked listed companies, mutual funds and brokerages to stabilize the market during the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said people with direct knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be named because the matter isn’t public. The Bloomberg JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index, which tracks the region’s 10 most-used currencies excluding the yen, was set for its highest close of the year. South Korea’s won strengthened 0.9 percent versus the greenback, buoyed by more than $1 billion of overseas money that flowed into the nation’s stocks this week. The rupiah added as much as 1 percent. Commodities Copper rose as much as 1.7 percent to the highest level in almost four months on bets for more stimulus in China, the largest consumer of metals. Used in everything from property construction to high-voltage cables and mobile phones, copper is a key indicator for global inflation, helping drive movements in bonds and currency markets. Gold slid 0.8 percent to $1,254.78 an ounce, after entering the first bull market since 2013. Investors have sought the metal as a haven this year from turmoil in equity markets. Oil was near an eight-week high in New York, poised for a third weekly gain as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries prepared for a meeting with other major producers on March 20 to renew talks on an output freeze. West Texas Intermediate climbed 1.3 percent to $35.01 a barrel. U.S. natural gas fell as much as 1.7 percent to $1.611 per million British thermal units, the lowest level since 1998, amid forecasts for mild weather this month. Currencies The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.1 percent after the payrolls data, ending a run of four straight declines. The pound fell against the dollar and euro, paring the biggest weekly gains in at least four months. The U.K. currency slipped 0.1 percent to 77.38 pence per euro, leaving its weekly gain at 1.9 percent, still the biggest since Oct. 23. Sterling dropped 0.4 percent to $1.4115. The euro added 0.2 percent to $1.0981, and the yen was at 113.75 per dollar. Bonds The cost of insuring corporate debt against default was set for the biggest weekly decline since October. The Markit iTraxx Europe Index of credit-default swaps on investment-grade companies fell for a seventh day, the longest run since October. The measure dropped one basis point to 95 basis points. A gauge of swaps on junk-rated companies declined five basis points to 388 basis points. An index of swaps tied to subordinated debt issued by European financial companies was headed for the biggest weekly drop in a more than a year. The measure surged in February amid concerns about bank earnings. Ten-year Treasuries note yields rose three basis points to 1.86 percent. Germany’s 10-year bund yield climbed four basis points to 0.21 percent.

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