GLNCY Glencore Plc (PK)

By Riva Gold 

Global stocks inched higher Friday as investors held off on big bets ahead of the release of the U.S. jobs report, which could offer clues on the course of interest rates.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.5% halfway through the session, on track for its third consecutive week of gains. Shares in commodities giants Glencore PLC and Anglo American PLC were both up 4.7% as the price of industrial metals such as copper and iron ore rose.

Futures pointed to a 0.2% opening gain for the S&P 500. Changes in futures don't necessarily reflect market moves after the opening bell.

Analysts said traders were reluctant to make big moves ahead of the nonfarm payrolls report, due later Friday, a key gauge of the health of the world's largest economy.

The jobs report is also the last major data point before the Federal Reserve's March 15-16 policy meeting. Weeks of financial market turmoil, uncertainty on the global economy and falling commodities prices had eroded expectations for further U.S. interest rate increases this year. But a strong report could increase expectations of further action from the Fed, pressuring U.S. Treasurys and boosting the dollar.

"The pace of rate rises will be slower than we thought, but they'll still happen, unless we see real signs of economic weakness," said Robert Smithson, fund manager at THS Partners.

Recent economic data hasn't been as bad as people feared, he added, "but it's still by no means clear economies have moved out of this low-growth environment."

Earlier, stocks in China, Japan and Australia edged higher, building on a three-week recovery in Asian stocks. Investors were looking ahead to China's annual legislative sessions this weekend, where officials will lay out their plans for reform.

In commodities, Brent crude oil edged up 0.3% to $37.16 a barrel, on track to gain roughly 6% this week. Spot gold hit a one-year high in Europe at $1,272 an ounce, spurred by a weak dollar.

Both stocks and commodities prices have bounced back since mid-February, following steep losses earlier in the year. "I don't think all the fear is gone, but there's hope we're at least stabilizing," said George Zivic, portfolio manager at OppenheimerFunds.

Still, much of the recent recovery has come from short-covering, particularly in commodities, suggesting the gains might not last, said Mr. Zivic. "We expect continued volatility," he added, as investors reassess the global economy, central banks and the strength of the U.S. dollar.

In currencies, the dollar was broadly steady ahead of the jobs data. The dollar was up 0.2% against the yen at Yen113.7910, while the euro was up 0.4% against the dollar at $1.0985.

Chao Deng contributed to this article.

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 04, 2016 07:39 ET (12:39 GMT)

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