U.S. stock-index futures rose after the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped in November to a two-year low.
The jobless rate declined to 8.6 percent, the lowest since March 2009, from 9 percent, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Payrolls climbed 120,000, with more than half the hiring coming from retailers and temporary help agencies, after a revised 100,000 rise in October that was more than initially estimated. The estimate called for a gain of 119,000.
Equity futures extended their gains following a report that as much as 200 billion euros ($270 billion) of national central bank loans may be channeled through the International Monetary Fund.
World markets:
Nikkei 8,644 +46.37 +0.54%
Hang Seng 19,040 +38.13 +0.20%
Shanghai Composite 2,361 -26.20 -1.10%
FTSE 5,565 +75.18 +1.37%
CAC 3,187 +57.41 +1.83%
DAX 6,123 +86.96 +1.44%
Crude oil: $100.80 (+0,6%).
Gold: $1756,00 (+0,9%).