US futures were higher on Friday after fresh data pointed to a strong labour market, boosting chances the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates.
Contracts tracking Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 were steady, up 0.5 per cent although those tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 eased to trade 0.3 per cent higher ahead of the New York open.
The moves come after closely watched data from the US labour department showed that non-farm payrolls rose 339,000 in May, well above the 190,000 consensus estimate of economists polled by Reuters.
The figure signalled resilience in the US economy, making it more likely that the Fed will continue to increase interest rates in efforts to bring down inflation.
Meanwhile, investors took heart as the US Senate on Thursday approved a deal between the White House and congressional Republicans to lift the country’s $31.4tn debt ceiling for two years in exchange for cuts to government spending.
The accord ended a weeks-long political stand-off that risked triggering an unprecedented debt default in the world’s largest economy. The benchmark S&P 500 hit a nine-month high overnight.
“We can start moving forward with regards to focusing on what else matters . . . What matters is data and fundamentals at the end of the day,” said Georgios Leontaris, chief investment officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa at HSBC Global Private Banking.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 and FTSE 100 both rose 1.1 per cent and France’s Cac 40 added 1.4 per cent.
The shares of London-listed Dechra rose 8.4 per cent after the veterinary pharmaceuticals company has agreed a £4.5bn buyout by Sweden’s EQT, in what would be one of the biggest UK private equity deals of the year so far. London’s FTSE 100 added 1 per cent.
Markets in Asia rallied. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led the region with a rise of 4 per cent, as internet and tech stocks led a rebound from its lowest point of the year on Thursday.
China’s CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed stocks rose 1.4 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.3 per cent and Japan’s Topix was up 1.6 per cent.
A debt ceiling resolution also bolstered oil prices, with West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, adding 2.5 per cent to trade at $71.89 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude rose by 2.4 per cent to $76.04.
The dollar slipped 0.1 per cent against a basket of six other currencies.
