BANGKOK (AP) World stock markets advanced Friday but gains were held in check as investors awaited a U.S. jobs report that could solidify expectations about when the Federal Reserve will start reducing its expansive stimulus.
Markets in Asia were patchy while European benchmarks posted modest gains. Germany's DAX added 0.6 percent to 9,136.06 and France's CAC-40 rose 0.4 percent to 4,116.63. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent to 6,527.25. Futures augured an advance on Wall Street, with Dow and S&P 500 futures both up 0.3 percent.
Belief that the Fed will decide to begin "tapering" its $85 billion in monthly asset purchases at its Dec. 18 meeting ratcheted up after the U.S. government reported that the U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.6 percent in the third quarter, its fastest pace since the first quarter of 2012.
A 23,000 fall in weekly U.S. jobless claims to 298,000 also added to the evidence that the U.S. economy is growing strongly and that the stimulus, which has kept interest rates low to spur recovery, will be reduced. Whether those expectations remain intact could hinge on Friday's official jobs report for November. Economists are forecasting that employers added 180,000 jobs last month, according to a survey by FactSet.
"U.S. data has been fairly robust this week and judging by the fact the S&P 500 has closed lower for the past five days, there is increased expectations for a solid number in today's U.S. payrolls report," said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG in Melbourne, Australia.