XM non fornisce servizi ai residenti degli Stati Uniti d'America.

Stocks rise in jittery trade, focus on Middle East and jobs data



<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>REFILE-GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks rise in jittery trade, focus on Middle East and jobs data</title></head><body>

Fixes Reuters instrument code for Hong Kong stocks index in paragraph 4

By Rae Wee, Amanda Cooper

LONDON/SINGAPORE, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Global stocks rose on Friday while oil prices were headed for their biggest weekly gain in two years, as escalating tensions in the Middle East kept markets on edge.

With the all-important monthly U.S.nonfarm payrolls report just hours away, investors were reluctant to drive any asset prices too hard in one direction or another.

The payrolls report could prove instrumental in setting the path of monetary policy in the coming months. Traders have already reeled in their bigger bets on another outsized rate cut in November from the Federal Reserve.

Adding a note of optimism was a rally in Hong Kong stocks .HSI on the back of China's massive stimulus measures.S&P 500 ESc1 and Nasdaqfutures NQc1 tacked on 0.1%, suggesting shares on Wall Street may edge higher later.

Oil prices have risen 8.6% this week, setfor their biggestweekly gain since early October 2022's 11.3% weekly gain, as flaring tensions in the Middle East raise the risk of serious disruptions to global crude supply.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the U.S. was discussing strikes on Iran's oil facilities, when asked whether he would support Israel's strikes in retaliation for Tehran's missile attack on Israel.

Biden's comments sparked a surge in oil prices, which had already been on the rise this week.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 0.7%to $78.17a barrel, whileU.S. futures CLc1 gained 0.7% to trade at $74.24.

Equities traded with caution, as did currencies. The MSCI All-World index .MIWD00000PUS was up 0.1%, while Europe's STOXX 600 .STOXX rose 0.2%.

"I do wonder whether there maybe a bit of caution heading into the weekend. Is anyone really going to want to hold big positions going in?" City Index market strategist Fiona Cincotta said.

"As far as the data is concerned, it's ticking over nicely - not too hot, not too cold. But there is that lingering and looming concern over what might happen in the Middle East and that might (limit) any strong reaction to an encouraging payrolls number."

Japan's Nikkei .N225, whichrose 0.2% on Friday, was set for a weekly loss of about 3%.

Japanese stocks have had a choppy few sessions this week as investors weighed rising geopolitical tensions against the domestic rate outlook.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said this week that economic conditions in the country were not ripe for more rate hikes by the Bank of Japan (BOJ), reversing the hawkish tone he struck prior to his election victory.

The comments, coupled with more dovishness from other officials, sent the yen weakening past the 147 per dollar level, although it did trade0.45% higher on Friday and last stood at 146.29 per dollar.

Still, the Japanese currency was headed for a weekly fall of 2.8%.

Meanwhile, U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports began reopening on Thursday night after dockworkers and port operators reached a wage deal to settle the industry's biggest work stoppage in nearly half a century.

This hit the shares of shipping companies in Asia and Europe, which slid on the prospect of freight charges - which had jumped when the strike started - resuming their downward trend.

ECONOMIC RESILIENCE

The dollar hovered near a six-week high ahead of the payrolls report that could decide the path of interest rates.

Expectations are for the U.S. economy to have added 140,000 jobs last month, slightly down from August's 142,000 increase.

Against a basket of currencies, the dollar =USD was last at 101.87.

A slew of data releases this week pointed to a U.S. economy still in solid shape, meaning investors will place extra focus on Friday's payrolls data.

"The U.S. services ISM beat strongly on the upside, exceeding all forecasts. It certainly points to a robust U.S. economy," Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said. "Our base case assumption remains that the U.S. labour market is normalising rather than faltering."

The euro EUR=EBS was little changed at $1.1028, though it was set for a weekly drop of 1.2%. Sterling GBP=D3 rose 0.2%to $1.3159 after Bank of England chief economistHuw Pill said high interest rates were not a key reason for weakness in British business investment.

The pound staged a 1% fall on Thursday afterGovernor Andrew Bailey was quoted as saying the BoEcould become "a bit more activist" on rate cuts if there is further good news on inflation.

Elsewhere, spot gold XAU= rose 0.34% to $2,665.15 an ounce. GOL/

text_section_type="notes">To read Reuters Markets and Finance news, click on https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets For the state of play of Asian stock markets please click on: 0#.INDEXA


World FX rates YTD http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn

Asian stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4


Additional reporting by Rae Wee in Singapore; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Andrew Heavens

</body></html>

Disclaimer: le entità di XM Group forniscono servizi di sola esecuzione e accesso al nostro servizio di trading online, che permette all'individuo di visualizzare e/o utilizzare i contenuti disponibili sul sito o attraverso di esso; non ha il proposito di modificare o espandere le proprie funzioni, né le modifica o espande. L'accesso e l'utilizzo sono sempre soggetti a: (i) Termini e condizioni; (ii) Avvertenza sui rischi e (iii) Disclaimer completo. Tali contenuti sono perciò forniti a scopo puramente informativo. Nello specifico, ti preghiamo di considerare che i contenuti del nostro servizio di trading online non rappresentano un sollecito né un'offerta ad operare sui mercati finanziari. Il trading su qualsiasi mercato finanziario comporta un notevole livello di rischio per il tuo capitale.

Tutto il materiale pubblicato sul nostro servizio di trading online è unicamente a scopo educativo e informativo, e non contiene (e non dovrebbe essere considerato come contenente) consigli e raccomandazioni di carattere finanziario, di trading o fiscale, né informazioni riguardanti i nostri prezzi di trading, offerte o solleciti riguardanti transazioni che possano coinvolgere strumenti finanziari, oppure promozioni finanziarie da te non richieste.

Tutti i contenuti di terze parti, oltre ai contenuti offerti da XM, siano essi opinioni, news, ricerca, analisi, prezzi, altre informazioni o link a siti di terzi presenti su questo sito, sono forniti "così com'è", e vanno considerati come commenti generali sui mercati; per questo motivo, non possono essere visti come consigli di investimento. Dato che tutti i contenuti sono intesi come ricerche di investimento, devi considerare e accettare che non sono stati preparati né creati seguendo i requisiti normativi pensati per promuovere l'indipendenza delle ricerche di investimento; per questo motivo, questi contenuti devono essere considerati come comunicazioni di marketing in base alle leggi e normative vigenti. Assicurati di avere letto e compreso pienamente la nostra Notifica sulla ricerca di investimento non indipendente e la nostra Informativa sul rischio riguardante le informazioni sopra citate; tali documenti sono consultabili qui.

Avvertenza sul rischio: Il tuo capitale è a rischio. I prodotti con leva finanziaria possono non essere adatti a tutti. Ti chiediamo di consultare attentamente la nostra Informativa sul rischio.