Global shares advance on U.S. jobs data

Global share markets were on course for their first gain in three weeks amid a surge in commodity prices. Investors’ enthusiasm was mainly from a key U.S. labor report, which will then provide hints on when the Federal Reserve will ease its monetary stimulus.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan recorded a 0.4% increase. Chinese blue-chip index.CSI300 and Japan’s benchmark index Nikkei both advanced 0.3%. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record peak as investors resorted to economically sensitive stocks.

U.S. shares jumped higher, with financials and industrials leading the upswing. This came after a report showed a drop in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefit. The drop was the first since the coronavirus started, indicating that the labor market was recovering.