* MSCI world stocks index rises for 4th day
* USD index ticks up; euro, pound, yen dip
* U.S. markets will be closed Friday for 4th of July holiday
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - World stocks rose for a fourth
straight day on Thursday after U.S. payrolls increased by a
record 4.8 million in June, but the dollar and Treasury debt
prices also edged up, suggesting lingering concern about surging
COVID-19 cases in many U.S. states.
New cases shot up by nearly 50,000 in the United States on
Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, marking the biggest
one-day spike since the start of the pandemic. Several states, along with some other parts of the world,
are reversing or pausing reopenings to tackle a recent surge in
infections, leaving analysts worried about another sell-off in
financial markets if the damage mounts.
June's job survey, which saw the unemployment rate fall to
near 11% and average wages drop 1.2%, was taken just as the
spike in COVID-19 cases started to accelerate. Over 31 million
Americans were still collecting unemployment checks weekly.
"The strong rebound would normally be an unambiguously
positive sign that a recovery is under way, (but) it is being
accompanied by a sharp rise in new infections, which was what
caused the collapse in the first place," said Mike Bell, global
market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management in London.
"It is therefore too soon to say for certain that this
recovery in employment sounds the all-clear for investors."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 279.45 points,
or 1.09%, to 26,014.42, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 34.8 points,
or 1.12%, to 3,150.66 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
117.09 points, or 1.15%, to 10,271.72.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 1.97% and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained
1.34%. Emerging market stocks rose 2.33%.
Japan's Nikkei futures NKc1 rose 0.72% and overnight,
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS closed 2.41% higher.
Oil futures prices rose, supported by the U.S. employment
numbers and Wednesday's drawdown in crude inventories, but the
spike in U.S. coronavirus infections fanned concerns that
economic activity will weaken in coming weeks. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 rose 1.98% to $40.61 per barrel and Brent
LCOc1 was at $43.11, up 2.57% on the day.
Treasury yields backtracked to trade lower shortly after
rising following the strong jobs data.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 4/32 in price
to yield 0.6693%, from 0.682% late on Wednesday.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR last rose 4/32 in price to
yield 1.4292%, from 1.434%.
"The knee-jerk move in the wake of the jobs report made
sense," said Ben Jeffery, a strategist at BMO Capital Markets in
New York. "But clearly people were reluctant to sort of push
that sell-off just given the headline risk over the weekend and
the fact that things on the virus front still seem to be
worsening."
U.S. financial markets will be closed on Friday in
observation of Saturday's 4th of July Independence Day holiday.
In currencies, the dollar softened after the payroll numbers
but trickled up to positive territory midmorning in New York,
and has remained slightly higher since.
The dollar index =USD rose 0.143%, with the euro EUR=
down 0.2% to $1.1228.
"Dollar performance will hinge on the U.S. response to
COVID," said Juan Perez, senior currency trader at Tempus Inc in
Washington. "On that end, the U.S. is losing because the
situation is far more difficult than in other parts of the
world."
The Japanese yen weakened 0.09% versus the greenback to
107.58 per dollar, while sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.246, down 0.08% on the day.
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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Financial markets battle rise of COVID-19 https://tmsnrt.rs/2YUS3C6
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