Global Stocks Inched Up After Jobs Data Comforted Investors Over the US Economy

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Stocks edged up Monday in a chance start to the week as investors continued to assimilate the July US jobs report and assess what it means for Federal Reserve policy and markets.

US stocks surged cautiously up in European trading hours. S&P 500 futures were 0.20% higher, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.16%, and Nasdaq futures surged 0.33%. 

The unexpectedly strong report on Friday showed the US added 528,000 jobs last month, a sign the labor market is on the right path despite fears of a recession.

“The US economy simply cannot be deemed to be in a recession in a month when over 528,000 jobs have just been added as payrolls,” Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid said.

Nonetheless, with a tight labor market in place, wages are set to continue rising quickly, which may well convince the now data-dependent Fed to keep up its aggressive interest-rate hikes.

To make more detailed judgments about policy, investors will watch out for inflation data reports later this week, with July’s Consumer Price Index figure set for release Wednesday.