Jobs support stock markets while tensions in Mideast intense (ISFM) (04-03-2011)

Markets opened quite mixed on Friday’s session as the government reported an increase in hiring and a fall in the unemployment rate with the Labor Department announcing the economy added 192,000 jobs in February, 17,000 more that economists had predicted.

The number of people applying for initial unemployment benefits fell to 368,000, marking the lowest level since May 2008 while according to the ADP the previous day, 217,000 people were hired last month.

In Libya, security forces fired shots and used tear gas to disperse a protest against Muammar Gaddafi's regime in the capital Tripoli. Demonstrators began the protest in the city's eastern district after Friday prayers.

In Asia, stocks rallied, with Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rising 1%. In Europe, stocks were also higher in intraday trading, with Germany’s DAX 30 index advancing 0.5%.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 2 points to 12,241. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index lost almost 1 point to 1,329, while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 1.25 points to 2,370.5.

In commodities, April Nymex crude futures gained $1.23 to $103.15 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex and gold futures edged up 90 cents to $1,417.30 an ounce.

Source: ISFM