World shares jump on US data, Dow eyes 10th gain in row

Global equity markets and the dollar rose on Thursday, with the iconic Dow poised to extend its winning streak to 10 days, after more encouraging signs of a labor market recovery underpinned sentiment the US economy is gaining traction.

Wall Street opened higher, following gains in Europe that pushed shares to a fresh 4-1/2 year high, after the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell in the latest week.

The four-week moving average for new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, fell to 346,750, the lowest level in five years. The decline suggested a firming in underlying labor market conditions.

"Every week that claims stay down, it confirms it's not an anomaly, and this is pretty important," said Jack De Gan, chief investment officer at Harbor Advisory Corp in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The downward trend in jobless claims was "one of the reasons the market has been strong year to date," De Gan said.

The S&P 500 closed Wednesday about 10 points away from an all-time record high. The Dow has risen for nine straight days, a streak not seen since late 1996.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 66.15 points, or 0.46%, at 14,521.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 6.59 points, or 0.42%, at 1,561.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 13.51 points, or 0.42%, at 3,258.62.

In Europe, the European FTSEurofirst 300 of leading regional shares was at its highest level since mid-2008, up 0.82% on the day.

The recent stellar run by global stock markets is due to improving growth in key economies such as the United States and the ongoing commitment by major central banks to keep stimulus in place as long as needed, analysts said.

"The current rally is due to the cyclical expectations for the US economy as it recovers," said Didier Duret, chief investment officer at ABN Amro.

"The better the US performs the bigger the hope that we will see some spill over into Europe... We are overweight in equities and we love it," he added.

The glow of the US data also helped the dollar climb to a new seven-month high as gains across the board helped push it up 0.13 to 82.999 against a basket of currencies.

The euro edged down 0.16% to $1.2939. The single currency has shed 6% from a peak early last month.

Oil rose above $109 a barrel, rebounding after four days of losses, although a subdued outlook for demand growth and easing supply concerns limited the gains. The US jobs data gave oil a lift.

Brent crude for April gained $1.20 to $109.72 a barrel. US oil added 8 cents to $92.60.

US Treasuries extended price losses on the jobless report.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was down 9/32 in price to yield 2.0541%.