A currency trader walks near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 2, 2021. Asian shares were higher Friday after a broad rally pushed the S&P 500 past 4,000 points for the first time.
A currency trader walks near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 2, 2021. Asian shares were higher Friday after a broad rally pushed the S&P 500 past 4,000 points for the first time.
Currency traders watch computer monitors near screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 2, 2021. Asian shares were higher Friday after a broad rally pushed the S&P 500 past 4,000 points for the first time.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in many of the markets worldwide that were open on Good Friday, while Treasury yields rallied after a report showed U.S. employers added hundreds of thousands more jobs last month than economists expected.
The U.S. bond market closed early after an holiday-shortened session that saw the yield on the 10-year Treasury climb to 1.72% from 1.68% late Thursday. It’s been rising sharply this year on expectations that a supercharged economic recovery and higher inflation are on the way due to COVID-19 vaccinations and massive spending by the U.S. government. The yield began the year close to 0.90%.
In Asia, stocks in Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai all rose a day after the S&P 500 passed the 4,000-point level for the first time. Many major stock markets were closed in observance of Good Friday, including in New York and much of Europe.
Futures for U.S. stock indexes rose, suggesting the S&P 500 may add to its record when trading resumes on Monday.
Friday morning’s U.S. jobs report was highly anticipated, and investors hoped it would show their expectations for a strong economic recovery were warranted. Hiring blew past expectations, with employers adding 916,000 more jobs than they cut last month. Economists had forecast growth of 617,500.
It was nearly double the jobs growth from February, and it was the strongest since August. The data helped S&P 500 futures climb 0.4%, following the 1.2% rise for the index on Thursday to an all-time high. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 also climbed.