(MENAFN- AFP) World stock markets recovered Friday after China removed ill-fated trading curbs, with a huge gain in US jobs helping to drive shares higher.
Oil markets also pulled back also after striking 12-year low points on Thursday.
"The major averages are stronger after a solid jobs report and lower international volatility overnight," said analysts at Wells Fargo Advisors.
While analysts had expected data to show US jobs growth slowed in December, in fact it picked up pace, generating a huge 292,000 net new positions and stifling worries that the economy could be slowing down.
The US Labor Department also reported Friday that job creation for the previous two months was also significantly stronger than originally reported, and more people were in the jobs market.
"The US labour market continues to be a pillar of strength –- not only for the United States, but the entire global economy," said Harm Bandholz, chief US economist at UniCredit Research.
Wall Street opened higher on the news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 0.8 percent in the first five minutes of trading.
The dollar pushed higher, with the euro sliding to $1.0865.
Analysts noted however the jobs news was not all good news as there was no wage growth to help support further domestic expansion.
Analyst Craig Erlam at the Oanda foreign exchange trading company said the question now is whether the US Federal Reserve will want to see more than just job growth before raising interest rates further or pursue higher rates regardless.
"The rally in the dollar following today's jobs report suggests the markets believe the latter," he said in a note to clients.
European stock indices were also mostly higher, with London's FTSE 100 up 0.5 percent in afternoon trading.
Nevertheless, "as we come to the end of the week European equity markets look on course to post some of the worst weekly losses since the previous China induced volatility, seen last August," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
European and US stocks had Thursday as signs of a dramatic slowdown in powerhouse China put fright into investors about the outlook for the world economy.
Asian stock markets meanwhile endured another volatile ride on Friday.
Shanghai's main index closed up two percent but lost about one-tenth of its value over the week.
- 'Large market volatility' -
Earlier Friday, Chinese equities bounced on another day of volatility across Asia as investors were panicked by Beijing's attempts to stabilise its beleaguered markets, with growing fears the global economy could be teetering.
China late Thursday removed the "circuit breaker" mechanism blamed for fuelling sharp sell-offs that shuttered mainland markets early twice in the space of four days, provoking losses on trading floors from Asia to Europe and the Americas.
Authorities also set the central rate for the yuan currency marginally higher against the US dollar, ending eight days of falls. A decision to set it at a five-year low was one of the catalysts for hefty selling globally Thursday.
Friday's initial response was positive, with reports saying Shanghai was given support by state-backed cash being used to prop up big-ticket firms.
The wild swings across Asia were reminiscent of the summer's China-linked worldwide turmoil owing to increasing concerns about Beijing's ability to control a slowdown in the world's number-two economy.
"There's not a lot of stability in terms of policy management in China," said Matthew Sherwood, head of investment strategy at asset managers Perpetual in Sydney.
"They are very much making it up as they go... It causes large market volatility as people in markets don't like uncertainty."
Global investors have been alarmed by slowing growth in China's economy, which is expected to have expanded in 2015 at its slowest pace in a quarter of a century.
- Key figures around 1430 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 5,984.12
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.5 percent at 10,030.84
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,396.37
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 3,088.87
New York - Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 16,647.16
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.9 percent at 1,960.11
New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.1 percent at 4,739.27
Shanghai - composite: UP 2.0 percent at 3,186.41 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 17,697.96 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0865 from $1.0928 late Thursday
Dollar/yen: UP at 118.17 yen from 117.65 yen
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.