NEW YORK: Major world stock indexes rose on Friday, with U.S. equities closing near record highs, as data showed the creation of more U.S. jobs than expected, while President Donald Trump's executive order to review banking regulations boosted financial sector shares.U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 227,000 jobs last month, the largest gain in four months, but wages increased only modestly, suggesting slack in the labor market.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 186.55 points, or 0.94 percent, to close at 20,071.46, the S&P 500 gained 16.57 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,297.42 and the Nasdaq Composite added 30.57 points, or 0.54 percent, to 5,666.77. In late trading it was little changed on the day, headed for its fourth straight weekly loss.The greenback has struggled amid concerns about the Trump administration's preference for a weak dollar and focus on trade and immigration policies rather than fiscal stimulus and tax reform. Comments by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak that oil producers have cut their output in accordance with a pact agreed in December also helped support prices.Oil futures added 0.42 percent with Brent crude rising more than 2 percent for the week.London copper was down 2 percent on the day, hitting its lowest in two weeks. The decline came after workers restarted wage talks at the largest copper mine in Chile and China increased its interest rates, sparking concern about a clampdown on speculators.Gold added 0.34 percent, rising 2.3 percent for the week, its largest weekly percentage gain since June.- Reuters

Source: The Star February 03, 2017 21:33 UTC