Global stocks pare losses after US jobs report, oil up again
BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets were down Friday after the U.S. government said employers cut 701,000 jobs in March as they shut down or sharply curtailed business due to the coronavirus outbreak.
European markets were lower after losses in most of Asia. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 77 points shortly after the report was released, compared with a decline of 100 points around 8:30 a.m.
The report comes a day after the government said a record 6.6 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week. The S&P 500 has fallen less than 1% so far this week, but is down 25% from the record it set back on Feb. 19.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 in London sank 0.9% to 5,431 and Frankfurt's DAX was flat at 9,574. The CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.8% to 4,187.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.6% to 2,763.99 and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 1.5 points to 17,820.19. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.2% to 23,236.11 after falling as much as 0.8% earlier.
The Kospi in Seoul ended unchanged at 1,725.44 after being down 0.6%. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 declined 1.7% to 5,067.50 and India's Sensex lost 1.9% to 27,727.19.
The price of oil continued higher after President Donald Trump said on Twitter he expected major oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia to back away from their price-cutting war. But by midday, most Asian markets had retreated again.
Benchmark U.S. crude added $3.04 to $28.36 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained $4.92 to $34.86 per barrel in London.
Markets usually welcome lower energy costs for companies and consumers. But the abrupt plunge to below $20 this week from $60 at the start of the year triggered fears heavily indebted producers might...