GlOBAL MARKETS-Stocks climb on oil price surge despite grim U.S. jobs data

(Updates with market closing data, adds analyst comment)
By David Randall
NEW YORK, April 2 (Reuters) - World equity markets climbed
on Thursday on a surge in risky assets like oil, offsetting
concerns over an increasing death toll from the coronavirus
pandemic that is expected to push the global economy into
recession.
Investors sought the safety of the U.S. dollar and
government bonds. Stocks and oil futures were among the few risk
assets that advanced, with oil benchmarks surging 20% after U.S.
President Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia
to reach a deal soon to end their oil price war.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
rose 1.20% after broad declines in Japan. European shares also
rose 0.42% despite data showing U.S. weekly jobless claims
jumped to a record 6.6 million, double the record from the
previous week.
At the close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones
Industrial Average .DJI rose 469.93 points, or 2.24%, to
21,413.44, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 56.4 points, or 2.28%, to
2,526.9 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 126.73 points, or
1.72%, to 7,487.31.
"Most of the selling was done yesterday in anticipation of
the jobs number and investors were looking for entry points as
everyone expected it to be bad and they have been," said Jamie
Cox, managing partner of Harris Financial Group in New York.
"A lot the trading has been on fixed income because if oil
prices stabilize, that will stabilize the bond market and will
feed through to reduced default risk."
Investors sought the perceived safety of government bonds.
Benchmark U.S. 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 3/32 in price
to yield 0.6251%, from 0.635% after trading hours on Wednesday.
The World Health Organization said the global case count
would reach 1 million and the death toll 50,000 in the next few
days. It currently stands at 46,906. U.S. President Donald Trump, who had initially played down
the outbreak, told reporters at the White House on Wednesday
that he is considering a plan to halt flights to coronavirus hot
zones in the United States.
In currency markets, the dollar rose 0.632% against a basket
of six major currencies =USD after a gain of 0.53% overnight.
The euro traded down 0.99% at $1.0853 as the dollar advanced.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures jumped 20.9% to $29.91. U.S.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures soared 21% to
$24.73.
Trump said he had talked with the leaders of both Russia and
Saudi Arabia and believed the two countries would make a deal
within a "few days" to lower production, thereby bring prices
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Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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