Disappointing American jobs data weighs on global stocks
THE REPERCUSSIONS of a weak US jobs report were felt throughout global equity markets yesterday, with worries over the global economic recovery weighing down on stocks.
Crude oil also fell as investors reacted to the disappointing government report, which last Friday showed that only 120,000 US jobs were created in March – well below expectations for a further 200,000 new jobs.
Brent crude settled down 76 cents to $122.67 a barrel yesterday, while US oil fell 85 cents to settle at $102.46 a barrel.
On Wall Street the S&P 500 lost 1.14 per cent and the Dow Jones shed one per cent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which includes Japan, was down 0.3 per cent last night.
And MSCI’s all-country world equity index slipped 0.7 per cent to trade near lows last seen a month ago. Yet some losses were pared in later trading, suggesting that traders could finally be shrugging off the jobs data.