Global markets rose Friday and Wall Street futures as investors awaited the U.S. jobs report for May, which is expected to show another surge in unemployment in the world’s largest economy.
Germany’s DAX gained 1.7% to 12,643 and the CAC 40 in Paris added 1.9% to 5,108. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.3% to 6,421. Futures for the Dow were up 1.3% while those for the S&P 500 were 0.8% higher.
Economists expect the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report for May to show employers slashed 8.5 million jobs last month, down from 20.5 million in April. That would push the unemployment rate to nearly 20% from about 15%.
That would raise the total losses since the coronavirus intensified nearly three months ago to almost 30 million — more than triple the number of jobs lost during the 2008-2009 Great Recession.
As economies around the world sag under the pressure of the lockdowns they have had to enforce for weeks and are only just easing, more countries are offering fiscal and monetary stimulus.