Stocks edge up with US futures; dollar slips: markets wrap

European stocks edged higher alongside US futures on Friday, with global equities poised to cap their best week in a month on improving economic data and government support.

The Stoxx 600 Index opened modestly in the green, after the German Parliament agreed to back a monetary package seen as a key prop for the euro area’s battered economy. Contracts on the S&P 500 drifted higher after the underlying gauge rose in the wake of Thursday’s stronger-than-anticipated US jobs report. American cash equity and bond markets are shut Friday for the Independence Day holiday. Asian stocks climbed.

The dollar headed for its first weekly drop in a month, while the pound edged higher as Brexit talks inched toward an agreement. Gold was steady just below $1,800 an ounce.

Investors continue to weigh signs that global economies are on the mend against relentless new outbreaks of the virus. US payrolls data Thursday fueled optimism of a V-shaped recovery in the world’s biggest economy, even as Florida reported that infections and hospitalisations jumped the most yet, and Houston had a surge in intensive-care patients.

“There’s still a general positive sentiment about how quickly we’re seeing the recovery,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank. “But we do think you’re going to see the recovery level off, especially if we continue to see higher case numbers on the virus.”

Elsewhere, crude oil dipped but remained on track for a weekly gain.

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