By ForexMansion.com
The U.S. Labor Department released the infamous jobs report for the month of March, where the Non-farm payrolls increased by 216,000 jobs well above expectations of 190,000 added jobs, and unemployment dropped for a fourth consecutive month to reach 8.8 percent, the lowest since March 2009.
Moreover, the ISM manufacturing index eased slightly in March to 61.2 from 61.4 but came slightly above expectations, and accordingly, investors were feeling optimistic over the outlook for the U.S. economy, since the recovery seems to be picking more momentum.
Accordingly the reaction in stock markets was very positive, where stocks in the United States extended their gains, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 12400 for the first time since June 2008, while the S&P 500 index rose nearly 0.80% to trade around the 1336 level.
Meanwhile, European stock indexes also closed higher on Friday amid the optimism that dominated investors after the jobs report, where the DAX rose nearly 2 percent by closing, while the FTSE 100 and CAC 40 both rose more than 1.50 percent.
Moreover, gold prices declined today as investors’ risk appetite increased and accordingly they headed for risky assets to pressure oil prices below $1430 an ounce, while oil prices fluctuated earlier before settling within the $107 level a barrel, where oil prices rose near $108 a barrel today, the highest level since September 2008.
Originally posted here
