Global stocks received a boost during the afternoon trade in Europe when Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report showed payroll growth slower in December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.07% shortly after the open. Payroll growth still exceeded expectations.
Nonfarm payrolls skyrocketed by 223,000 for the month, above the Dow Jones estimate of 200,000, while the unemployment rate dipped to 3.5%, 0.2 percentage points below expectations.
Shares in Asia-Pacific ticked higher overnight, led by South Korea’s Kospi index, while U.S. stock futures pointed to a positive open on Wall Street as traders await the key jobs report.
