GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks gain after bumper U.S. jobs data, bonds smell Fed trouble

* U.S. stock futures rise 0.5%, Nikkei gains 0.8%
* U.S. debt yields up, markets bet on 2022 rate hike
* Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, April 5 (Reuters) - Global stock prices rose to a 1
1/2-month high on Monday after data showed a surge in U.S.
employment while U.S. bonds came under pressure on worries the
Federal Reserve may bump up interest rates sooner than it has
indicated.
U.S. S&P500 futures ESc1 traded 0.3% higher, maintaining
most of their gains made during a truncated session on Friday
though tech-heavy Nasdaq futures NQc1 lagged behind, trading
almost flat.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 0.8% while MSCI's
broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS slipped slightly, with China closed for
Tomb-Sweeping day and Australia on Easter Monday.
MSCI's all-country world index .MIWD00000PUS was almost
flat but stood near its highest level since late February and
within sight of a record high set that month, though trade
remains slow, with much of Europe on holiday.
The U.S. labour department said on Friday that nonfarm
payrolls surged by 916,000 jobs last month, the biggest gain
since last August. That was well above economists' median forecast of 647,000
and was closer to markets' whisper number of one million. Data
for February was also revised higher to show 468,000 jobs
created instead of the previously reported 379,000.
"There will be further improvements in April, as restaurants
have started to reopen. People have expected economic
normalisation to take place sooner or later but its pace seems
to be accelerating," said Koichi Fujishiro, senior economist at
Dai-ichi Life Research.
Although employment remains 8.4 million jobs below its peak
in February 2020, an accelerating recovery raised hopes that all
the jobs lost during the pandemic could be recouped by the end
of next year.
The prospect of a return to a full employment, in turn, is
raising questions about whether the Fed can stick to its pledge
that it will keep interest rates through 2023.
Markets have strong doubts, with Fed funds futures FFZ2
FFF3 fully priced in one rate hike by the end of next year.
Many market players also expect the Fed to look into
tapering its bond buying this year, even though Fed officials
have said it has not discussed the issue yet.
"It will become impossible for the Fed to avoid discussing
tapering by the autumn," said Kozo Koide, chief economist at
Asset Management One, noting U.S. President Joe Biden's
infrastructure spending plan is likely to be passed by then.
The two-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 0.186% US2YT=RR ,
near its eight-month peak of 0.194% touched in late February.
Yields on longer-dated bonds also rose, with 10-year notes
at 1.725% US10YT=RR in Asia on Monday, extending its rise that
began on Friday after the job report.
The strong jobs data helped to underpin the dollar.
The greenback traded at 110.65 yen JPY= , not far from
Wednesday's one-year peak of 110.97. The euro stood at $1.1752
EUR= .
Gold slipped 0.4% to $1,724.70 XAU= .
In crypto assets, ether ETH=BTSP slipped 1.7% to $2,040.21
from Friday's record peak of $2,144.99. Bitcoin eased BTC=BTSP
0.9% to $57,704.
Oil prices dropped, paring strong gains made in the previous
session that was driven by the decision by OPEC+ to gradually
ease some of its production cuts between May and July.
"Although the market rose initially on the news, it will be
an output increase after all," said Tatsufumi Okoshi, senior
commodity analyst at Nomura.
The decision came after the new U.S. administration called
on Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, to keep energy
affordable for consumers.
U.S. energy firms also added the most number of oil rigs in
a week since January 2020 as higher oil prices in recent months
have prompted drillers to return to the wellpad. U.S. crude futures CLc1 fell 1.4% to $60.62 per barrel
while Brent fell 1.4% to $63.95 LCOc1 .

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
World FX rates YTD http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>