Australia

Australian shares are set to gain this morning following a strong end to the week for global markets. The US Senate approved legislation to raise the debt limit and cut spending, averting a federal default. Meanwhile, the pace of US job growth last month surpassed expectations.

ASX futures were higher Saturday morning, having advanced 82 points, or 1.1%, as of 6:00am.

Major US stock indices climbed Friday on the back of a jobs report that blew past Wall Street expectations, signaling that hiring remains robust even as other data suggests inflation continues to slow. It added momentum to a market already bouncing from Washington's 11th-hour deal to avert a government default.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped about 2.1% Friday, or more than 700 points, its best session of the year and enough to claw back recent days' losses to finish the week in the green. The S&P 500 edged 1.5% higher, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1% to its sixth-straight weekly gain and a 52-week high. The Canadian S&P/TSX composite index gained 1.8%.

Investors piled into stocks across every industry after the Labor Department on Friday reported that the U.S. created 339,000 jobs in May. For money managers gauging whether the economy is running too hot or too cold, flat wage growth and rising unemployment rounded out a rare instance of Goldilocks jobs numbers.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil advanced 2.8% to US$76.33 a barrel while gold dropped 1.5% to US$1,948.96.

Australian government bonds were higher, with the 2 Year yield increasing to 3.64% and the 10 Year yield also rising to 3.64%. US Treasury notes were higher, with the 2 Year yield moving up to 4.50% and the 10 Year yield increasing to 3.69%.

The Australian dollar jumped to 66.11 US cents from its previous close of 65.69. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, moved up to 97.75.

Asia

Chinese stocks ended higher Friday, extending Thursday's gains. Recent dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials eased market worries about further monetary tightening, relieving pressure on emerging equities. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8% to settle at 3230.27. The Shenzhen Index and the tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index both added 1.2%. Construction-material producers, home-appliance makers and real-estate services companies led gains. Haier rose 6.1%, Midea was up 6.0% and property manager 5I5j Holding added 4.5%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 4.0% higher at 18949.94 amid a risk-on mood. The US Senate approved the US debt ceiling deal, easing concerns of a potential default and helping to boost investor sentiment. Among the index's top gainers, Longfor Group jumped 17%, Country Garden Services added 13% and Li Ning closed 11% higher. Decliners included CK Infrastructure, which fell 1.7%.

The Nikkei Stock Average of Japan ended 1.2% higher at 31524.22, a new closing high since July 1990, as the US Senate approved a deal to raise the debt ceiling, averting a government default. Gains were led by auto, tech and electronics stocks. Toyota Motor climbed 3.4%, SoftBank Group advanced 4.3% and Nidec Corp. gained 5.7%.

India's benchmark Sensex index closed 0.2% higher at 62547.11 as US debt ceiling concerns eased. The debt ceiling deal cleared Congress, averting a US default. Global cues were positive overall following the vote on the debt deal and indications from several Federal Reserve officials that the central bank could pause rates in June, ICICI Direct Research analysts said in a note. Gainers included Tata Steel, 1.9% higher, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra, up 1.7% each. Decliners included Infosys, which fell 1.6%.

Europe

European stocks rose Friday after US lawmakers passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling and data showed a larger-than-expected increase in US nonfarm payrolls in May. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 gained 1.5%, the German DAX added 1.3% and the French CAC 40 advanced 1.9%.

In London, the FTSE 100 closed up 1.6%, boosted by the mining sector as basic resources surged. Global stock investors were optimistic following reports that China is looking at new support measures for its property market, CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson explained. Better-than-expected US employment data also contributed to Friday’s gains.

"Today's reports of a possible stimulus plan [in China] have prompted a strong rebound for the whole sector, and those same miners, while other China-exposed companies are also seeing a lift," Hewson noted. Prudential PLC led the British index higher, up 5.7%, followed by miners Antofagasta and Anglo American, up 5.5% and 5.1%, respectively.

"Global stock markets ended the week on a more positive note as the US government agreed to a raised debt ceiling," IG analyst Axel Rudolph wrote. "Much stronger-than-expected US job creation data points to a robust economy even if the unemployment rate rose to a higher-than-expected 3.7%." Payrolls rose 339,000 in May, higher than the 190,000 increase forecast by analysts in a WSJ survey.

North America

Major US stock indices climbed Friday on the back of a jobs report that blew past Wall Street expectations, signaling that hiring remains robust even as other data suggests inflation continues to slow. It added momentum to a market already bouncing from Washington's 11th-hour deal to avert a government default.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped about 2.1% Friday, or more than 700 points, its best session of the year and enough to claw back recent days' losses to finish the week in the green. The S&P 500 edged 1.5% higher, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1% to its sixth-straight weekly gain and a 52-week high. The Canadian S&P/TSX composite index gained 1.8%.

Investors piled into stocks across every industry after the Labor Department on Friday reported that the US created 339,000 jobs in May. For money managers gauging whether the economy is running too hot or too cold, flat wage growth and rising unemployment rounded out a rare instance of Goldilocks jobs numbers.

"They could not have been better," said Jake Remley, senior portfolio manager at Income Research & Management. "The topline was great but the details were also supportive of inflation slowing down."

Markets have danced with the Federal Reserve for months, parsing economic data that could influence if and when the central bank halts historically fast interest rate increases that have made it more expensive for businesses and consumers to borrow money. The Friday report was the last monthly jobs snapshot before the Fed's June meeting.

Some officials have indicated that they would support halting rate increases to study how the economy is handling the 10 consecutive increases leading to this point. Wall Street has largely bought that rhetoric: Market odds for a June hike more than halved since last week, to 28% Friday, according to CME Group.

But Friday jobs data also underscored the prospect that if officials do tap the brakes, they could also throttle up again later this summer. Two-year Treasury yields rose to 4.501%, up from 4.339% Thursday, reflecting a greater perceived likelihood that the Fed could decide to raise rates again, or to hold them at high levels for longer than investors expected.

Even so, money managers remain mostly unfazed. The Cboe Volatility Index, a measure known as Wall Street's fear gauge, hit its lowest level on Friday since 2020.

"Investors know we're in the latter innings of the game" regarding interest-rate increases, said Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard. "My view of the risk of recession has definitely gone down in the last four to five weeks."

That sentiment has helped shares in banks, which are susceptible to interest-rate changes. The S&P 500 financial sector finished up 2.2%, led by Bank of America's 3.4% gain and Charles Schwab's 3.2% increase. The KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index, meanwhile, jumped 6.3%.

In individual stocks, shares in athletic gear maker Lululemon surged 11.3%, snapping a nine-day losing streak, after the company raised its annual outlook on sales growth in China. Computer manufacturer Dell rose 4% following its report that revenue plunged 20% in the first quarter but beat expectations.

Amazon rose 1.2% after Bloomberg News reported that the tech company was considering offering mobile service to Prime subscribers. Shares in Dish Network, which The Wall Street Journal previously reported to be in talks with Amazon to sell coverage, ripped upward by 16%.

Echoing how grocery stocks were creamed when the e-commerce company bought Whole Foods, holders of telecom stocks did not like the sound of Amazon encroaching on their territory. AT&T slipped 3.8%, Verizon fell 3.2% and T-Mobile slid 5.6%.