Easing fears about the US economy and European debt buoyed world equity markets on Monday, extending a rally that has taken many bourses into positive territory for the year. Wall Street looked set to open flat after a big jump on Friday. MSCI's all-country world stock index was up half a percent, driven by strong performances in Japan and emerging markets. European shares were flat to higher. The world index was in the black year-to-date for the first time since January, apart from a brief blip on Friday. Friday's US data – showing employers cut fewer jobs than expected last month and that consumers showed signs of shedding their penny-pinching behaviour – lifted sentiment. Worries about Greek and other peripheral euro zone economy debt were also calmed by a series of weekend comments by politicians and policymakers. French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised on Sunday that euro zone countries would help Greece if its financial problems worsened and vowed a crackdown on market speculators. The cost of insuring Greek sovereign debt fell and the yield spread between Greek bonds and benchmark German Bunds narrowed. “The market is a little more positive, buoyed by what happened in the United States on Friday with the non-farm payroll figures,” said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management.
