Financial Market News

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U.S. companies are sounding the alarm on fourth-quarter earnings, lowering profit estimates just as the stock market is poised to end its best year since 1998.

Global equity markets surged and the dollar rose against the yen on Friday after stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data gave investors confidence the economy is strong enough to withstand an expected reduction in Federal Reserve stimulus.

A logo is seen outside Scotiabank headquarters in the financial disitrict in Toronto Tuesday December 3, 2002.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 155 points, or 1 percent, to 15,978 as of noon Eastern time Friday.

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON - Global stocks rose Friday as investors welcomed forecast-busting U.S. jobs data, even though they reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin to reduce its monetary stimulus this month.

All three major U.S. stock indexes bounced back from four days of losses Friday as investors cheered a better-than expected November jobs report.

U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in November and the jobless rate fell to a five-year low of 7.0 percent, heightening expectations the Federal Reserve will soon start ratcheting back its bond-buying stimulus.

Stocks jumped in early trading after the Labor Department said U.S. employers added 203,000 jobs last month, greater than the 180,000 economists had forecast.

European stocks snapped their longest losing streak in six months on Friday, boosted by Swiss food firm Nestle as it sold its Givaudan stake, potentially freeing up more than a billion dollars for buybacks or acquisitions.

The euro jumped to its highest level against the dollar in more than a month on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled that the bank doesn't have any immediate plans to ease policy further.

A trade association for the securities industry said on Thursday it is time to revamp how the hardware behind the trading halt in Nasdaq stocks in August is governed, a move that would likely reduce their control by the two leading U.S. stock exchange operators.

Small stocks have brought big joy this year, but they've been so generous that some mutual fund managers question how much they have left to give.

The Toronto stock market closed lower Thursday, pressured by the financial sector as the latest batch of bank earnings disappointed, giving traders an excuse to take some more profits from a sector that has delivered solid returns all year.

In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, file photo, retired U.S. Navy Chief Jerome Porter, right, of Atlanta, talks with Joe Corsino, executive director of Welcome Home Resumes, during a job fair for veterans at the VFW Post 2681, in Marietta, Ga.

Aeropostale, Francesca's Holdings and The Wet Seal fell early Thursday after reporting lower income or issuing earnings forecasts that disappointed investors.

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In Europe, most markets were muted ahead of European Central Bank and Bank of England policy meetings.

The Dow and the S&P 500 finished lower for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday after investors found few reasons to make big moves, with uncertainty remaining over when the Federal Reserve will start to slow its stimulus.

A survey of 200 registered investment advisors by Aberdeen Asset Management showed that 59% of RIAs think "clarity regarding the fund manager's investment philosophy and strategy is the most important attribute considered when recommending a mutual fund to a client."