World Shares Advance Ahead Of Key U.S. Jobs Report

European and Asian shares were mostly higher on Friday ahead of a report on US employment, which is expected to show that the economy remains strong despite a prolonged bout of high interest rates.

The Dow advanced 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.5%. I Photo: aa440 Flickr

Oil prices and US futures were higher, Elaine Kurtenbach reported for the Associated Press (AP).

In Asian trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.5% to 18,475.92, tracking gains on Wall Street. News of fresh moves by Chinese leaders to energize the economy also helped drive the buying of technology shares.

E-commerce giant Alibaba climbed 4.1%, and rival JD.com was up 5.5%. Baidu advanced 4.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6% to 7,629.00, and the Kospi in Seoul slipped 0.3% to 2,676.63.

Taiwan’s Taiex picked up 0.5%. India’s Sensex shed 0.9% to 73,952.37.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.9%, a day after swinging sharply when the Federal Reserve said it’s likely delaying cuts to interest rates but not planning to hike them. That more than halved its drop for the week.

The Dow advanced 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.5%.

Later Friday, the US government will report on how many jobs employers added last month, one of the most highly anticipated economic updates each month. Germany’s DAX gained 0.3% to 17,958.12, and the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.5% to 7,950.67.

In London, the FTSE 100 added 0.3% to 8,198.88.