NEW YORK (Reuters) – A gauge of stock markets worldwide rose to a two-month high on Friday, posting its largest weekly gain since October, as oil and other commodity prices firmed and strong U.S. jobs growth bolstered confidence in the global economy.

The recovery in commodities lifted emerging markets shares, which rose 1.6 percent on the day. MSCI’s emerging-market stock metric posted its largest one-week gain since December 2011.

U.S. equity indexes rose to their highest levels since early January following the jobs data, which showed strong growth in payrolls and an increase in labor-force participation, though there was a surprising decline in hourly wages.

Nonfarm payrolls grew by 242,000 jobs last month, beating forecasts for 190,000 new jobs, but average hourly wages dipped by 0.1 percent after a strong 0.5 percent increase in January.

The drop in wages suggested that U.S. inflation remained muted, analysts said. Policymakers at the Federal Reserve are watching inflation closely in their assessment of when to continue raising interest rates.

“The wage number might be the silver lining, if you will, against a more hawkish Fed over the next few months because the Fed has been really focused on inflation,” said Mohannad Aama, managing director of Beam Capital Management LLC in New York.

A rise in the Fed’s rates generally strengthens the dollar, which makes U.S. exports more expensive and can reduce profits for companies that do business overseas.

The Dow Jones industrial average on Friday rose 62.87 points, or 0.37 percent, to 17,006.77, the S&P 500 gained 6.59 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,999.99 and the Nasdaq Composite added 9.60 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,717.02.

The S&P 500 rose more than 2.5 percent for the week, its third straight week of gains.

Brazil’s stock market rose to a seven-month high after police detained former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for questioning in an investigation of a bribery and money laundering scheme.

The Bovespa was up more than 4 percent following a 5 percent gain on Thursday after news of Lula’s questioning brought the investigation closer to President Dilma Rousseff, who is fighting off impeachment. It was the largest two-day gain the index has posted since January 2009.

For months, Brazilian assets have rallied when it appears that prospects have increased of a change in government. Rousseff’s increased state intervention in the economy has long been unpopular with business.

Yields of U.S. benchmark Treasuries rose to their highest levels in a month, led by longer-dated securities. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 13/32 in price to yield 1.88 percent.

MSCI’s global gauge of stocks was up 0.7 percent. Asian shares closed with their best week in five months and European stock markets ended with a third week of gains.

Oil prices touched two-month highs, gaining 10 percent this week. Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 4.6 percent to $38.78, and U.S. crude rose 4.2 percent to $36.03.

Iron ore and copper both hit four-month highs.

The dollar fell 0.25 percent against a basket of major currencies, and the euro rose above $1.10 for the first time since Feb. 26.

(Reporting by Dion Rabouin; Addtional reporting by Anirban Nag; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Nick Zieminski and Leslie Adler)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global equity markets got a boost from an upturn in crude oil on Thursday as the market focused on an upcoming meeting of major oil producers that investors hope could stabilize volatile petroleum markets.

U.S. stock indexes were also buoyed by robust data on durable goods orders that pointed to a recovery in the struggling manufacturing sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 212.37 points, or 1.29 percent, to 16,697.36, the S&P 500 gained 21.93 points, or 1.14 percent, to 1,951.73 and the Nasdaq Composite added 39.60 points, or 0.87 percent, to 4,582.21.

Crude oil futures rose more than 2 percent after Venezuela reaffirmed an oil producers meeting in mid-March that would include Saudi Arabia, Russia and Qatar. Prior to the announcement, oil was down as much as 3 percent.

The sharp turn was more of “an emotional move, people thinking they’re going to miss the boat,” said Michael Matousek, head trader at U.S. Global Investors Inc in San Antonio, about the gains in oil.

“People are trying to stay one step ahead, thinking they know what the decision of OPEC will be.”

U.S. crude futures settled up 92 cents, or 2.9 percent, at $33.07 a barrel.

Brent crude futures finished up 88 cents, or 2.6 percent, at $35.29 a barrel, hitting a three-week high.

European equity markets rose Thursday, rebounding from this week’s losses that had been spurred by fears of Britain exiting the European Union.

Europe’s FTSEurofirst 300, which has lost almost 4 percent since Tuesday, was up 2 percent as risk appetite returned.

Equity markets and oil prices have moved in sync this year so far, but analysts say they expect the two to decouple in the not-too-distant future.

MSCI’s gauge of global stock markets was up 1.1 percent.

Markets’ appetite for risk pushed traders out of safe-haven currencies like the Japanese yen, which fell 0.6 percent against the dollar.

Britain’s sterling rose 0.3 percent to $1.3970, taking a breath from a 5-percent fall since early this month on fears that a public vote on June 23 could see Britain become the first country to quit the 28-member European Union.

The dollar struggled to make much headway overall due to doubts over whether the Fed will raise rates at all this year. The euro edged up 0.15 percent to $1.1027. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies was flat on the day.

Oil’s recovery Thursday did help increase U.S. bond market’s gauges on traders’ inflation expectations to their highest levels in nearly four weeks.

Federal Reserve policymakers have been concerned about the erosion in inflation expectations which could impair efforts to boost domestic price growth to their 2-percent goal.

The yield premiums on regular U.S. Treasuries over Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, known as inflation breakeven rates, have risen from their lowest levels since early 2009 in recent days with the rebound in oil prices.

(Additional reporting by David Gaffen in New York, Marc Jones in London, Joshua Hunt in Tokyo; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A sharp rebound in crude prices lifted stocks on Wall Street on Wednesday in a late rally, but a gauge of equities across the globe closed lower on lingering concern about economic growth.

Crude turned higher after data showed U.S. gasoline demand spiked and the S&P 500 climbed steadily after that, ending 2 percent above its session low.

“You have a tremendous amount of underperformance out there in the hedge fund community,” said Ian Winer, director of trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles. “When the market starts to turn, it starts to feed on itself because people can’t afford to miss out on a rally.”

Other assets, like Treasuries and gold, reversed course after the bounce in crude.

“As much as it frustrates people, the reality is (oil and equities) are incredibly highly correlated and they have been really going back to November,” said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 53.21 points, or 0.32 percent, to 16,484.99, the S&P 500 gained 8.53 points, or 0.44 percent, to 1,929.8 and the Nasdaq Composite added 39.02 points, or 0.87 percent, to 4,542.61.

The 14-day correlation between the S&P 500 and U.S. crude stands at 0.93, just below the 3-1/2 year high hit earlier this month.

The bounce in the S&P contrasted with a fall in European stocks, which were weighed by energy and commodity sector names. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 share index fell 2.3 percent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks globally fell 0.5 percent.

Nikkei futures jumped 0.9 percent.

OIL REBOUNDS

Government data showed U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by 3.5 million barrels in the United States last week to an all-time peak. But the increased gasoline demand over the past four weeks and a drop in inventories helped push crude futures higher.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 3.7 percent to $34.50 a barrel. U.S. crude added 1.1 percent to $32.23.

The turn in oil and stocks pushed yields on the lowest-risk government bonds sharply higher, with prices ending the day slightly in the red.

Benchmark 10-year U.S. notes were last off 2/32 in price to yield 1.7501 percent. At their session low the yield was 1.647 percent.

In currency markets, the yen, which had been initially bid up on its safe-haven appeal, ended the day above 112, little changed against the U.S. dollar. It earlier reached an almost three-year high against the euro of 123.43 yen.

Sterling hit a seven-year low versus the dollar of $1.3876 on concerns Britons might vote to leave the European Union in a June referendum. It last traded down 0.7 percent at $1.3924.

The euro dipped 0.1 percent versus the greenback to $1.1008. The dollar index was flat.

Copper slipped 0.1 percent to $4,641.85 a tonne.

Spot gold retreated from major gains earlier in the day, last trading up 0.2 percent. It had risen as much as 2.1 percent.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, addiitonal reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Steve Orlofsky)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global equity markets slumped on Tuesday, denting the recent recovery in riskier assets as oil prices tumbled on signs that a proposed deal to freeze output by major producers was not on the horizon.

After gains of more than 5 percent on Monday, which had helped push a gauge of world equities up more than 1 percent, both Brent and U.S. crude turned sharply lower after Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said he welcomed all sources of supply, while Iran was seen as unlikely to agree to an output cap.

The decline in crude weighed on both the energy and financial sectors on Wall Street. Concerns about bank exposure to the energy sector were highlighted by JP Morgan’s announcement that it will put aside an additional $500 million to cover potentially bad loans to energy companies.

Markets have been closely tethered to oil prices, which have been volatile based on the continually changing perceptions that an output deal could be reached.

“The markets are really worried that we are missing something here – that the global slowdown may be more significant than we are recognizing and that slowdown could be causing oil prices to drop,” said Tracie McMillion, head of asset allocation at Wells Fargo Private Bank in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

U.S. crude futures settled down 4.6 percent at $31.87 a barrel and Brent settled 4.1 percent lower at $33.27 a barrel. The commodity had shown signs of stabilization above $30 a barrel recently on hopes a production freeze by major producers could be agreed upon.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 188.88 points, or 1.14 percent, to 16,431.78, the S&P 500 lost 24.23 points, or 1.25 percent, to 1,921.27 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 67.02 points, or 1.47 percent, to 4,503.58.

European shares also moved lower on the crude weakness, along with and disappointing updates from Standard Chartered, down 6.7 percent, and BHP Billiton, down 6.1 percent. A weak sentiment reading of German manufacturers also raised concerns about the health of the region’s largest economy.

Resources stocks, down 3.2 percent, weighed heavily on European equity indices after the world’s largest miner, BHP Billiton, posted its first loss in 16 years.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading shares closed down 1.3 percent. MSCI’s index of world shares was lost 0.92 percent.

In currency markets, the British pound remained under pressure, and was down 2.7 percent on the past two sessions, its biggest two-day drop in six years, on worries Britain may leave the European Union. Sterling was last down 0.83 percent at 1.403.

The euro also fell to $1.0987 on Monday, its lowest in almost three weeks, on fears Brexit could undermine the European Union. It was last down 0.13 percent at $1.1012.

Investors’ shift towards safer ground on Tuesday pushed the dollar lower against the yen, down 0.7 percent to 112.10 yen after hitting a low of 111.75.

The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies was little changed, up 0.09 percent at 97.467

Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries reversed earlier losses and were last up 8/32 in price to yield 1.7380 percent.

(Editing by Nick Zieminski)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global stocks rallied on Monday, backed by a rise in oil and commodity prices, while the British pound suffered its biggest one-day loss in nearly six years against the dollar on fears Britain would leave the European Union.

Sterling tumbled to a near seven-year low during the session after popular London Mayor Boris Johnson said he would campaign to leave the EU ahead of a June 23 referendum. The euro fell 0.9 percent.

Battered oil prices jumped as speculation about falling U.S. shale output helped feed the notion that crude prices may be bottoming after their 20-month collapse.

Benchmark Brent settled up 5.1 percent to $34.69 a barrel, while U.S. crude settled up 6.2 percent at $31.48 a barrel.

Stocks, whose performance has been tightly linked to oil prices, posted solid gains across major markets.

“It still seems like oil, for whatever reason, continues to be what everything is trading off of,” said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management Corp in Chicago. “That’s the signal that the world is OK, that oil prices are going up.”

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 228.67 points, or 1.39 percent, to 16,620.66, the S&P 500 gained 27.72 points, or 1.45 percent, to 1,945.5 and the Nasdaq Composite added 66.18 points, or 1.47 percent, to 4,570.61.

All 10 major S&P sectors were higher, led by a 2.2 percent increase for the energy sector.

The gains built on last week’s strong performance after a poor overall start for U.S. equities in 2016.

“The fact that we held it on Friday and then went through a weekend and sustained and advanced it even more, I think is building optimism and maybe we’ve turned a corner,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment officer at Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 share index rose 1.7 percent. Mining stocks were among the best performers, with Anglo American rising 10.8 percent, as the price of copper reached a two-week high.

Helped by mining shares, Britain’s FTSE 100 index rose 1.5 percent, despite concerns over a possible EU exit.

Stocks shrugged off a survey showing private sector business activity in the euro zone increased at its weakest pace in more than a year in February.

MSCI’s index of world shares rose 1.3 percent.

Worries about a possible British exit from the EU sent the euro to a near three-week low. Sterling fell 1.8 percent against the greenback and dropped as low as $1.4057.

“A Brexit would be bad for sterling, but it would also be bad for the euro,” said Neil Jones, Mizuho’s head of hedge fund sales in London.

The dollar was up 0.8 percent against a basket of six currencies.

U.S. Treasury prices ended lower as rising stock and oil prices reduced demand for safe haven debt.

Benchmark 10-year notes fell 5/32 in price to yield 1.77 percent, up from 1.75 percent late Friday.

Zinc prices surged to a four-month peak and other base metals also gained as investors’ appetite for risk increased while they also worried about potential shortages.

Gold fell 1.7 percent as the dollar strengthened and investor appetite for risk increased.

(Additional reporting by Karen Brettell and Dion Rabouin in New York, Nigel Stephenson and Jemima Kelly and Danilo Masoni in Milan; Editing by Catherine Evans, John Stonestreet and Nick Zieminski)