Stock market today: World shares gain after Wall St rally

May 8, 2023  -European shares opened little changed and Asian shares were mostly higher Monday after a widespread rally on Wall Street partly spurred by Apple’s report of better profit than expected.

Tokyo’s benchmark fell while markets in China advanced. U.S. futures were flat and oil prices rose.

A report Friday showed hiring accelerated across the economy by much more than expected last month. The government’s jobs report also showed workers won bigger pay raises than expected.

Such trends helped calm worries that a recession is looming, even as time grows short on reaching an agreement on the U.S. government debt ceiling, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

“But anxiety is building early this time and shifted into high gear last week after Secretary Yellen warned that a default could occur as soon as June 1,” he said.

Early Monday, Germany’s DAX was unchanged at 15,962.77 while the CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.1% higher, to 7,437.81. Markets in Britain were closed for a holiday.

The future for the S&P 500 was nearly unchanged while the contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday that there are “no good options” for the United States to avoid an economic “calamity” if Congress fails to raise the nation’s borrowing limit of $31.381 trillion in the coming weeks.