LONDON - World stock markets mostly rose ahead of key US jobs data, as investors tracked Wall Street gains. The Dow finished at a fresh record high Thursday after US President Donald Trump nominated Jerome Powell to lead the Federal Reserve and congressional Republicans unveiled their long-awaited tax-cutting plan.
On Friday, a sharp rebound in US employment levels is expected to be announced, after September's numbers were hit by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. "Despite the fact that the US jobs report almost always provides significant market volatility, today's figures are unlikely to have a huge impact on whether the Fed will raise rates next month," said Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG trading group. The Fed is widely expected to lift borrowing costs in December. On the corporate front Friday, shares in Apple suppliers were on the rise after the company said profit had climbed 19 percent to $10.7 billion (9.2 billion euros), and predicted bumper sales for its 10th anniversary iPhone X.
Apple's latest smartphone was launched in more than 50 countries and territories, with lengthy overnight queues at stores worldwide. In Europe approaching the half-way mark, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 0.1 percent compared with Thursday's close, as traders cheered better-than-expected growth for the UK services sector. In the neighbouring eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index won 0.3 percent and the Paris CAC 40 grew by 0.1 percent in value. Shares in Renault jumped 4.5 percent to 90.5 euros after the French government reduced its stake in the car giant.
In announcing his choice for the new Fed chief, Trump said former investment banker Powell has the wisdom and intelligence to guide the world's largest economy. Analysts said choosing Powell allows Trump to put his own imprimatur on the central bank with a minimum of disruption. "Meet the new boss, mostly the same as the old boss," said a note from Barclays.
Across the Atlantic, analysts said overall UK economic growth was set to have picked up pace in the fourth quarter after services activity accelerated to a six-month high in December -- supporting the Bank of England's decision this week to raise its key interest rate for the first time in a decade. "The pound has managed to bounce back a little... after taking a plunge on Thursday when the Bank of England (BoE) delivered a so-called dovish rate rise," noted Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada. "Sterling found mild support on the back of the latest PMI data from the dominant services sector." The BoE on Thursday raised its key rate from a record-low 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent in a bid to combat high UK inflation.
