An unexpectedly strong US non-farm payrolls report boosted US shares and took the shine off of recent strength in bonds. The S&P500 index of leading shares rose 0.25% and US Treasury yields rose, reflecting a stronger possibility that the good news on jobs may lead to earlier interest rate rises. The real surprise was the upward revision to the December data which showed that 329,000 were added that month rather than an already healthy 252,000. The data also showed wages rising at 0.5% in one month, the strongest most since November 2008 and pushing the rate of growth back up to levels seen in August. Encouragingly, the additional jobs were seen in retail and construction perhaps reflecting that the US consumer is in better health than previously thought.
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The week ahead
The week ahead