Stock markets rose Friday as cooling US job growth raised hopes of interest-rate cuts, while London hit another record high following speculation of a bidding war for mining giant Anglo American.
Investors had been keenly awaiting the data as the US non-farm payrolls (NFP) figures are key to the Federal Reserve鈥檚 decision-making on when to lower interest rates.
The Fed kept rates at a 23-year high on Wednesday to fight stubborn inflation.
Hiring in the world鈥檚 biggest聽economy聽came in at 1,75,000 last month, down from a revised March figure of 3,15,000, while wages rose by 0.2 per cent, said the US Department of Labour.
Analysts at Forex.com had expected the US聽economy聽to add 2,38,000 jobs last month, and wages to increase by 0.3 per cent month on month.
鈥楾his is a rare miss for the US jobs market which could potentially spell the end of the 鈥榟igher for longer鈥� rhetoric we have become accustomed to,鈥� said Mahmoud Alkudsi, senior market analyst at Abu Dhabi-based financial services firm ADSS.
A string of data this year showing inflation was holding stubbornly above target, while the聽economy聽and labour market remain resilient, has seen the Fed indicate it will have interest rates higher for longer.
Markets had started the year expecting the Fed would cut rates six times this year, but those expectations dwindled to one or two.
Alkudsi said the April jobs data would help the Fed become comfortable with cutting rates although the US聽economy聽is still expanding.
But he said the Fed was unlikely to cut rates before the end of June.
鈥業nvestors will be recalibrating their positions in response to this miss, and given the forex market鈥檚 sensitivity to employment data, we can expect the dollar to take a hit,鈥� he said.
The dollar slid against its main rivals after the data was released.
鈥榃e will also see weaker US bond yields, with risk assets continuing to see upside,鈥� he added.
US stocks jumped more than one per cent at the start of trading.
European stocks also rose, with London setting a new record high as Anglo American shares vaulted more than three per cent to top London鈥檚 risers after a report that Swiss-based commodities giant Glencore was considering a move on the British group.
The speculation emerged one week after Anglo rejected a blockbuster $39-billion takeover bid from Australian rival BHP, slamming it as highly unattractive and opportunistic.
Anglo and Glencore declined to comment on the Reuters report, which cited unidentified sources.
London鈥檚 benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies extended its record-breaking run to strike a new high at 8,248.73 points, dragging Frankfurt and Paris higher in its wake.
鈥楢 bidding war for an FTSE beast like Anglo would be just what investors have been hankering for,鈥� Finalto analyst Neil Wilson told AFP.
BHP鈥檚 colossal bid aims to create the world鈥檚 biggest-listed producer of copper, which is expected to face a demand boom due to its pivotal use in renewable energy technology like electric vehicles and solar panels.
In Asia, Hong Kong led gains on a surge in tech giants due to forecast-busting results and a huge stock buyback from industry bellwether Apple, while the yen extended gains against the dollar on revived hopes for US interest rate cuts.
