GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks rally into U.S. jobs report as commodity prices surge

* Asia stocks gain after Dow hits record on reflation trade
* Commodities soar to multi-year highs on global recovery
bets
* Dollar weakens, U.S. yields soften before Friday's jobs
data
* Gold trades above $1,800 amid outlook for higher inflation

By Kevin Buckland
TOKYO, May 7 (Reuters) - Global stocks headed for their
first weekly gain in three amid a surge in commodity prices,
while traders braced for a key U.S. jobs report later on Friday
that could provide clues on when the Federal Reserve will ease
back on monetary stimulus.
MSCI's benchmark for global equity markets .MIWD00000PUS ,
which tracks stocks in 50 countries, edged up about 0.1%, on
course for a 0.4% gain this week.
Its broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS rose about 0.5% on Friday, while Japan's Nikkei
.N225 gained about 0.2%.
China's blue chips .CSI300 swung between gains and small
losses, despite data Friday showing an unexpected pick-up in the
nation's export growth. Futures pointed to a 0.7% rise for Europe's benchmark stock
index STCEc1 and a 0.6% gain for Britain's FTSE FFIc1 at the
open.
"This will continue for the time being, because the
reopening (reflation) trade is still just getting underway,"
Masahiko Loo, a Tokyo-based portfolio manager at
AllianceBernstein, said of rising equity and commodity markets.
Commodity prices may peak soon, but will then consolidate at
current high levels, he said.
Aluminum prices approached levels last seen in 2018 and
copper CMCU3 flirted with 10-year peaks as investors bet on a
rapid global recovery from the pandemic, led by the United
States.
Iron ore futures vaulted to a record high on Friday, while
crude oil rose. Overnight, Wall Street investors piled into
economically-sensitive stocks on the reflation trade, driving
the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record high close on
Thursday.
The Dow .DJI rose 0.9%, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.8% and
the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.4%.
S&P futures EScv1 pointed to further gains, edging 0.1%
higher on Friday.
Financials and industrials led Thursday's rally in U.S.
shares after a report showed the number of Americans filing new
claims for unemployment benefits fell below 500,000 last week
for the first since the COVID-19 pandemic started, signalling
the labour market recovery entered a new phase amid a booming
economy. The Russell 1000 Value index .RLV gained 0.8%, outpacing
the Russell 1000 Growth index .RLG , which rose 0.5%.
"The rotation theme will probably continue for a while
longer," Alliance Bernstein's Loo said.
The focus now shifts to Friday's non-farm payrolls report,
with estimates ranging widely between 700,000 and more than 2
million jobs having been created in April.
"Get ready for payrolls, they could be huge," Chris Weston,
head of research at broker Pepperstone in Melbourne, wrote in a
note for clients.
"The commodity space is the talk," and financials are the
"bull play" going into the payrolls report, he said.
So far, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has argued the labour market
is far short of where it needs to be to start talking of
tapering asset purchases. The central bank has said it will not
raise its benchmark Fed funds rate through 2023.
The safe-haven dollar sank to its lowest level this week
against a basket of major peers on Friday ahead of the jobs
report, as firmness in global stock markets boosted risk
appetite.
The dollar index =USD dipped to 90.837, and was on track
for a 0.4% decline this week.
Treasury yields hovered near the lowest level this month on
Friday, further removing support for the greenback, after bond
traders largely shrugged off the better-than-expected initial
jobless claims data and waited for the non-farm payrolls report
to provide market direction.
The 10-year Treasury note US10YT=RR yielded 1.5682% in
Asia.
Gold XAU= headed for a 2.5% weekly gain, the most since
December, as the weaker dollar and easing Treasury yields
propelled the precious metal, an inflation hedge, above the
psychological $1,800-an-ounce level to last trade at around
$1,818.

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