Weekend markets: Biggest weekly gain in two years

Stocks on Wall Street notched their biggest weekly jump in two years as Friday produced fresh data that showed the economy might have finally turned around.

An update on the US manufacturing sector showed brisk expansion in June, representing one of the month's first prominent readings on the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 168.43 points, or 1.4%, to 12,582.77 for a 5.4% weekly gain – its best performance on a percentage basis since July 2009.

Wall Street’s other major benchmark indexes also finished the week with its highest percentage gain since then.

By points, the Dow tacked on 648.19 in five days, its best week since November 2008. The S&P 500 index jumped 1.4% to 1339.67, a 5.6% gain for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite added 1.5%, to 2816.03, giving it a weekly rise of 6.2%.

Other markets: Europe higher, Asia mixed
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.8% to close at 274.92, its fifth consecutive winning session. The index surged 4.1% over the week, its best weekly showing in a year.

The UK's FTSE 100 index rose 0.7% to 5989.76, Germany's DAX 30 index added 0.6% to 7419.44 and French CAC 40 index advanced 0.6% to 4007.35.

Asian markets ended mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed 0.5% to 9868.07, taking its weekly gain to 2%, and Korea's Kospi added 1.2% to 2125.74, jumping 1.7% for the week.

Australian stocks closed lower, giving back some of the hefty gains they posted Thursday, as weaker-than-expected data on Chinese manufacturing in June prompted profit-taking.

The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4% to 4591.20, trimming its weekly gain to 1.8%. India's Sensex fell 0.4% to 18762.80 but climbed 2.9% for the week. Markets in Hong Kong and Thailand were closed for holidays.

Commodities: Oil steady, gold at six-week low
The price of the light, sweet crude-oil futures contract for August delivery fell 48USc, or 0.5%, to $US94.94 a barrel in New York, after ranging from $US93.45 to $US95.39. It finished the week up 4.2%, the largest weekly rise since the week ended April 8.

ICE Brent crude oil for August delivery fell 71USc, or 0.6%, to $US111.77 a barrel, after ranging from $US109.50 to $US112.48 a barrel. Brent rose 6.3% in the week, also the biggest gain since the week ended April 8.

Gold prices slid to six-week lows below $US1500 an ounce. The most actively traded futures contract, for August delivery, fell $US20.20, or 1.3%, to $US1482.60 an ounce in New York, the lowest close for a most-active contract since May 17. The contract fell 1.2% on the week.

The June contract fell $US20, or 1.3%, to $US1482.20, leaving it down $US18.20, or 1.2%, for the week, the second straight weekly decline.

Currencies: US dollar rises
Surprising strength in the US manufacturing sector supported the US dollar against most major currencies but the euro held its ground as fears surrounding Greece's debt crisis ebbed.

The euro was at $US1.4526 from $US1.4502 late on Thursday. The dollar traded at ¥80.83 from ¥80.57, while the euro was at ¥117.40 from ¥116.81.

The UK pound fetched $US1.6075 from $US1.6052. The dollar was at 0.8472 Swiss franc from 0.8405 franc.