World markets: US jobs report boosts shares

Stocks on Wall Street rose sharply when a payroll report came in better than expected and stayed up most of the day.

But they sold off late in the day as a financial industry group ruling that Greece's debt restructuring constituted a de facto default.

After rising as much as 60 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average turned briefly negative before eking out a small gain.
The Dow gained 14.08 points, or 0.1%, to 12,922.02, down 0.4% on the week,

It was the second straight weekly drop thanks to Tuesday's 203-point decline, its first triple-digit fall in 45 days.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.4%, at 1370.87, and eked out a weekly gain, its fourth in a row. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6%, to 2988.34, up 0.4% on the week and also its fourth consecutive weekly advance.

Other markets: Europe steady, Asia up
Investors reacted positively to the strong uptake of Greece's proposed €206 billion private-sector debt restructuring.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 0.5% higher at 265.44. London's FTSE 100 Index was flat at 5855.18, Paris' CAC 40 Index rose 0.1% to 3481.02 and Frankfurt's DAX was 0.2% higher at 6854.83.

Japanese stocks drove a rally in Asian markets for a second straight day.

Exporters led the charge against the backdrop of the yen's recent losses, a decline in Chinese inflation and optimism over Greece's debt restructuring.

The Nikkei Stock Average, after jumping 2% on Thursday, rose 1.6% to finish at 9929.74, its highest close since Aug.ust 1. The benchmark briefly topped 10,000, also for the first time since August 1.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.9% to 21,086, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index gained 1% to 4212.0, Korea's Kospi advanced 0.9% to 2018.30 and Taiwan's Taiex climbed 0.4% to 8016.01.

China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.8% to 2439.46 after data showed inflation slowing in February.

Commodities: Oil, gold up
Oil futures ended at their highest level in a week after the strong US jobs report.

Light, sweet crude oil for April delivery settled 82USc, or 0.8%, higher at $US107.40 a barrel, the contract's highest finish since March 1.

Brent crude oil on ICE Futures Europe settled 54USc, or 0.4%, higher at $US125.98 a barrel.

Gold futures ended up as the apparent resolution of Greece's latest debt problems reversed earlier losses on the back of stronger-than-expected US employment data.

The most actively traded contract, for April delivery, settled up $US12.80, or 0.8%, at $US1711.50 an ounce in New York. This is the first time the contract settled above $US1700 since March 5.

Currencies: Euro falls
The euro fell, weighed by a decision by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association made investors eligible for credit-default swap payouts on Greece's recently completed debt exchange.

The euro was at $US1.3118 compared with $US1.3275 late Thursday. The dollar traded at ¥82.44, compared with ¥81.55, while the euro was at ¥108.14 from ¥108.26.

The pound bought $US1.5677 from $US1.5831, while the dollar fetched 0.9189 Swiss franc from 0.9082 franc.