Dollar, Stocks Up After U.S. Jobs Data

TRADERS ARE PICTURED AT THEIR DESKS AT THE FRANKFURT STOCK EXCHANGE JANUARY 2, 2012.

Stocks, commodity prices and the dollar moved higher on Friday while safe-haven government bonds fell after better-than-expected U.S. jobs data for December confirmed the recovery in the world's biggest economy is strengthening.

U.S. stock index futures showed Wall Street opening higher, while the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares extended gains and was up nearly 1 percent. Banking stocks .SX7P also edged up after big losses in the previous two sessions on fresh worries about euro zone lenders' ability to raise capital.

"It's a solid report. The market was looking for it and got it. I'd say the drop in the unemployment rate is good news for (U.S. President Barack) Obama," said Greg Anderson, senior currency strategist at Citigroup in New York.

"The uptick in hourly earnings is good news for everybody. We've seen euro-dollar fall a bit but I would anticipate that we get a rally in risk and emerging market currencies as they day goes on."

Non-farm payrolls rose 200,000 in December, the most in three months, while the jobless rate dropped to a near three-year low.

Payrolls had been forecast to have risen by 150,000 in December but a survey on Thursday showing private sector hiring surged last month and a fall in initial jobless claims in the latest week had raised hopes for an even stronger reading.

The dollar gained against the euro and the yen, with the euro last trading at $1.2757, down from the $1.2781 before the report and 0.1 percent lower on the day.

The dollar was last at 77.27, compared with 77.15 yen prior to the data and 0.1 percent higher on the day. It was also higher against a basket of major currencies .DXY.

Brent crude futures extended gains to $113.24 a barrel while gold, rallied to $1,623 an ounce, remaining on course for its best week in a month.

The Bund future fell 51 ticks to hit a session low of 138.28 after rallying 70 ticks in the previous session, while the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond was briefly a full point lower in price.

REUTERS