Investing
Tapering delayed? Markets climb after US jobs data disappoints
Markets climbed this afternoon following a worse-than-expected jobs update in the US, as investors anticipate the Fed will now have to delay quantitative easing tapering.
Payrolls in the US rose less than projected in August, while there were revisions to the previous two months’ figures, painting a more bleak picture of the country’s recovery.
The number of people in work rose by a worse-than-expected 169,000 in August, undershooting the 180,000 expected by economists, while July’s figure was revised down to a gain of 104,000.
Despite the latest setback, the unemployment rate fell unexpectedly as more people left the labor force, with the overall figure down marginally from 7.4% the previous month to 7.3%, its lowest level since December 2008.
However, investors are reading the figures as a sign the planned tapering operation by the Fed will now be delayed.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% or 22 points at 6,554 as the US market opened, just off day-highs seen shortly after the jobs data was released.
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US markets have also started strongly with the S&P 500 up 0.3% at 1,660 points, and the Dow ahead 0.2% at 14,971.