Shares stroll higher on June hike hiatus hopes

Shares rose and the dollar firmed on Monday as investors bet the Federal Reserve would pause its rate hikes this month after a mostly encouraging U.S. jobs report, while oil prices jumped after Saudi Arabia pledged big output cuts.

The benchmark European STOXX index (.STOXX) climbed 0.18% in early trading, led by gains in the oil & gas sector index (.SXEP) and echoing a 0.2% gain in MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS).

Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) surged 2.1% to stand above 32,000 for the first time since July 1990.

The dollar also firmed against major peers after data on Friday showed payrolls in the public and private sector far outstripping forecasts, while wage pressures eased and the unemployment rate climbed off a 53-year low.

That in turn stoked hopes the Fed could pause its program of rate hikes at the June 13-14 meeting, albeit likely resuming in July.

This report’s information was first seen on REUTERS; to read more, click this link.