Equities - Weekly outlook: June 10 - 14

U.S. stocks rallied on Friday after U.S. jobs data for May eased concerns that the Federal Reserve would begin to unwind its asset purchase program this year.

The Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs last month, slightly more than the 170,000 gain forecast by economists. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.6% from 7.5% in April.

The data indicated that the economic recovery is continuing, but not strongly enough for the U.S. central bank to begin tapering off its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed 1.38% higher and ended the week up 0.9%. The S&P 500 climbed 1.28%, and was 0.8% higher for the week. The Nasdaq rose 1.37%, and ended the week up 0.4%.

In Europe, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 rallied 1.37% on Friday and Germany's DAX was up 1.92% at the close. France's CAC 40 advanced 1.52%, while Britain's FTSE 100 closed 1.2% higher. 

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei ended 0.21% lower in a volatile session, which saw the index rise as much as 1.6% and fall as much as 2.8%. 

China's Shanghai Composite fell 1.3%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.91% and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index slid 0.4%. 

Elsewhere, oil prices were higher on Friday, with contracts for July delivery settling at USD96.20 a barrel, up 1.52% for the day. 

Gold was sharply lower, with futures for June delivery tumbling 2.36% to USD1,382.35 a troy ounce.