NEW YORK: Global stock indexes climbed on Monday as the upcoming US earnings season added to investor optimism after last week's robust US jobs data, while the dollar edged off three-year highs against major currencies.
Oil prices declined after rising sharply on unrest in Egypt, which stoked concerns about global supplies.
The upbeat US jobs data on Friday reassured investors the US economy was still strengthening but also fueled some concern the Federal Reserve could soon start reducing its $85 billion a month stimulus.
The improved view of the economy, combined with investors turning their attention to earnings season with Alcoa reporting after the close, helped send equities higher, said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.
"There's really not a reason to sell stocks today," Hellwig said. "There's a high level of comfort with the earnings season and with the strong job market."
The majority of S&P 500 companies tend to beat analysts' expectations for earnings.
MSCI's global share index was up 0.4 percent. Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 stock index ended 1.4 percent higher.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 88.85 points, or 0.59 percent, at 15,224.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 8.57 points, or 0.53 percent, at 1,640.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 5.45 points, or 0.16 percent, at 3,484.83.
The dollar index, which measures the value of the greenback versus a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.3 percent to 84.204, having hit 84.588, its strongest since July 2010.
Expectations the US economic recovery is leading the rest of the world and that the Fed will reduce its bond-buying have sparked a nearly 5 percent rally in the dollar since mid-June, prompting some traders to say the move had been too fast.
Focus is shifting to Wednesday's release of the minutes from the Fed's June policy meeting. A Reuters poll of firms that deal directly with the Fed now sees the reduction beginning in September.
"Our conviction is strong that the dollar will embark on a structural ascent, against a broad range of currencies," said Stephen Jen, a managing partner at London-based hedge fund SLJ Macro Partners.
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