World sharemarkets rose in the wake of the strong US payrolls-inspired finish to Wall Street trading on Friday.North American markets were closed on Monday for holidays.European stock markets closed marginally higher, with utilities stocks among the top p
World sharemarkets rose in the wake of the strong US payrolls-inspired finish to Wall Street trading on Friday.
North American markets were closed on Monday for holidays.
European stock markets closed marginally higher, with utilities stocks among the top performers after a broker upgrade and a German decision to extend the life of nuclear-power stations.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2% to 260.94. The index has rallied nearly 4% this month and is now up around 3% since the start of the year.
The French CAC 40 rose 0.3% to 3684.73, the UK FTSE 100 gained 0.2% to 5439.19 and the German DAX 30 added 0.3% at 6,155.04.
Major Asian sharemarkets made solid gains. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed 2.1% to 9301.32, its fourth consecutive gain, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.8% to 21355.77 and China's Shanghai Composite gained 1.5% 2696.25.
Commodities: Oil steady, gold up
Crude oil futures softened in largely subdued trading because of the US Labour Day holiday. The front-month October Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange was unchanged at $US76.67 a barrel.
The spot price of gold crept higher but struggled to overcome strong resistance at $US1250 an ounce in quiet trade. Gold traded at $US1249.10 up $US2.50, or 0.2%, in London.
Currencies: Euro, pound down
The euro weakened as optimism in the wake of Friday's US jobs figures faded.
Sterling lost nearly a cent against the dollar ahead of an unusually large amount of UK government-bond coupon payments.
In late European trading, the euro slipped back from an earlier high at $US1.2920 to trade at $US1.2878 compared with $1.2895 late on Friday in New York.
The dollar fell to ¥84.21 from ¥84.42, while the euro fell to ¥108.45 from ¥108.86. The pound fell to $US1.5393 from $US1.5464.
