Global stock markets edged higher and the dollar sank to a two-month low today, on Friday as investors awaited final vote processing in the U.S. presidential election, Reuters reported. Treasury yields rose on better-than-expected October employment data, while oil prices slid below $40 a barrel as new lockdowns in Europe to halt the surging COVID-19 pandemic dimmed the demand outlook. MSCI's all-country world stock index rose 0.2% to 592.58, adding to a week-long rally that has seen the benchmark for global equity markets advance more than 7%. The index is on course for its best week in nearly seven months. In Europe, the broad pan-regional FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.12% to 1,418.13. Stocks on Wall Street tried to rebound off of profit-taking from the week's big gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.29%, the S&P 500 lost 0.11% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.08%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note's yield rose 4.0 basis points to 0.8185%. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a lower-than-expected 6.9% from 7.9% in September, while growth in private payrolls blew past the consensus estimate, adding 906,000 jobs, especially in the hard hit leisure and entertainment sector. Italy's 10-year yield hit a record low of 0.603% on expectations of further stimulus. With COVID-19 raging in the United States and parts of Europe, many investors assume more central bank stimulus is inevitable. The Bank of England expanded its asset purchase scheme on Thursday, while the Federal Reserve kept its monetary policy loose and pledged to do whatever it takes to sustain a U.S. economic recovery. The European Central Bank is widely expected to announce more stimulus next month. Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.9% to a 29-year high while MSCI's broadest gauge of Asian Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3%, near a three-year high. . In currency markets, lower yields undermined the dollar, with the dollar index touching a two-month low of 92.182. It fell 0.462%, with the euro up 0.5% to $1.188. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.23% versus the greenback at 103.25 per dollar. Spot gold prices rose 0.21% to $1,952.64 an ounce. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.3% at $1,951.70. Crude prices fell about 4% as fresh lockdowns in Europe to contain the coronavirus darkened the outlook for oil. Brent crude futures settled down $1.48 at $39.45 a barrel. U.S. crude futures fell $1.65 to settle at $37.14 a barrel.
