U.S. stocks, dollar helped by solid payrolls

[November 04, 2016]  By Patrick Graham

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar gained and U.S. stock markets were set to open slightly higher on Friday, outperforming losses for counterparts in Europe and Asia, after solid U.S. jobs data added to the case for a rise in interest rates next month.

U.S. employers added 161,000 jobs last month and boosted wages for workers, Labor Department non-farm payrolls data showed. Numbers for August and September were also revised up to show 44,000 more jobs created than previously reported.

U.S. stocks futures inched into positive territory after the numbers and the dollar hit a session high of $1.1080 per euro.

That contrasted with a grim morning in Europe, where major stock indices followed those in Asia lower, driven by a combination of company earnings concerns and a tightening of the polls ahead of U.S. elections next week.

MSCI's global share index  slipped just under half a percent to hit its lowest since July 11 and is down almost 5 percent over the past two weeks.

Oil prices were flat after falling more than 1 percent on Thursday as investors reacted to a record weekly surge in U.S. crude inventories and remained skeptical that OPEC would actually implement its planned curbs on output.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 3, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

U.S. crude and Brent crude fell around 1 percent to $44.32 and $45.79 per barrel respectively, while bond markets barely budged with 10-year Treasuries at 1.7993 percent.

(Editing by Marc Jones)

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