Rising crude oil has boosted global stocks ahead of Friday's U.S. jobs report
It was a low-volume session in Asia, with markets in both Japan and South Korea closed for holiday. However, Chinese stocks ended a choppy session higher, as
wildfires in Canada and violence in Libya kept crude oil prices rising. Meanwhile, China's Caixin services purchasing managers index (PMI) showed expansion for April -- but to a lesser degree than was seen in March. Against this backdrop, China's Shanghai Composite finished the day up 0.2%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng pared earlier losses to close just 0.4% lower.
Stocks in Europe are also sitting on modest gains at midday, as traders await Friday's
U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. Energy stocks are rallying as crude oil climbs, while a round of mostly upbeat earnings reports in the U.K. overshadows a slump in the country's service sector PMI for April. London's FTSE 100 and the German DAX were last seen up 0.1% each, while France's CAC 40 was essentially flat.
Updated after European markets closed: While the German DAX widened its daily gain to 0.2% by the close -- as crude oil continued to gain ground -- London's FTSE 100 settled at a modest 0.09%. The French CAC 40, meanwhile, underperformed its peers, closing at a 0.1% loss.
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