Global shares rise on weaker dollar after strong jobs data

Global shares rose while the US dollar fell on Friday after better-than-expected jobs data provided clues the tightness in the American labor market was starting to ease, raising hopes the Federal Reserve could soften its stance on interest rates.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the U.S. economy generated 261,000 jobs in October, which was higher than an estimate of 200,000, according to a Reuters poll of economists. However, the data also showed some easing of labor market conditions, with unemployment rising to 3.7% from 3.5% in September while wage inflation dropped to 4.7% from 5% in the prior month.

The MSCI index of global shares, which tracks equities in 50 countries, broke two straight days of losses and was up 3.11%. European stocks also rallied 1.91%, a day after falling on rate hikes from the Bank of England and the Fed.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 was trading slightly higher, driven by stocks in financials, consumer discretionary, materials, and industrials.

The Dow Jones rose 0.07% to 32,024.91, the S&P 500 gained 0.04% to 3,721.21 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.21% to 10,321.06.