LONDON: Forecast-beating US jobs numbers sent global stocks and the dollar higher on Friday, extending gains after Chinese markets stabilised and a tentative recovery in oil prices helped calm frazzled investors.
The US employment data showed a bumper 292,000 jobs were added in December, topping expectations of 200,000 by economists polled by Reuters, The unemployment rate held steady at a 7-1/2-year low of 5 percent even as more people joined workforce, a sign of confidence in the labour market.
October and November payrolls were revised to show 50,000 more jobs created than previously reported, adding to the positive market sentiment.
US stock futures jumped between 1.3 and 1.7 percent and European shares rose.
The dollar gained more than 1 percent against the euro while against a broad basket of currencies it was up 0.9 percent.
Traders boosted bets on a first quarter rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Fed funds futures contracts showed traders now see a better-than-even chance of a March hike, having priced in a 45 percent chance before the jobs report was released.
"It's a very strong labour report that indicates, notwithstanding some weaker economic activity, the private sector continues to add workers, which is a good sign," said Peter Cardillo, chief markets economist at First Standard Financial in New York. Markets had already steadied after a nightmare start to the year.
That happened after China nudged the yuan higher for the first time in nine days, easing fears that it had lost control of the currency.
Traders also welcomed its decision to dump an unpopular stock market circuit-breaker system introduced this week, helping to restore a measure of risk appetite.
After a 10 percent-plus drop in Chinese equities, an equally dramatic slump in oil and major volatility in other markets, a 2 percent rise by Chinese shares on Friday ensured Asia end higher for the first time in 2016.
There was also a sense of relief in commodities markets as oil prices pulled out of their tailspin, although few experts were willing to declare an end to the slump.
After reaching a 12-year low the previous session, Brent crude rose as high as $34.72 a barrel before giving up some gains to trade at $33.95 at 1355 GMT, up 0.6 percent.
Ahead of the US market open Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co became the latest Apple supplier to feed worries about iPhone sales as it reported a 20 percent slump in December revenues.
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