NEW YORK — U.S. stock futures added to their gains after the government reported that employers unexpectedly cut 23,000 jobs last month. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.33 per cent. Bond yields dropped sharply. A weaker job market can be seen as putting less upward pressure on inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.60 per cent from 4.67 per cent just before the government issued the report. Global shares were mixed Friday while the price of crude oil edged lower. In midday European trading, Germany’s DAX rose 1 per cent. Selling of computer chipmakers and other stocks linked to the boom in artificial intelligence appeared to taper off a bit as Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.1 per cent to 65,606.71. The Kospi in South Korea dropped 0.6 per cent to 6,258.77 and Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.4 per cent. The price of Brent crude fell 0.7 per cent after rising nearly 4per cent on Thursday as progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, vital to securing stable oil supplies, remained unclear. Iran has said it is close to a deal with Oman for reopening the strait. U.S. President Donald Trump has also previously said a deal is close, but the conflict has had many starts and stops over the past five months. Reopening the strait may require a compromise since the Trump administration has ruled out Iran charging fees to ships. But Iran has insisted on some measure of control, saying the strait will not go back to being an international waterway. A fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas once passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices have surged as high as $113 due to the war and higher prices have added more heat to inflation by raising the price of gasoline and raising costs for shipping. While markets are still weighed down by worries over the war and over a possible bubble in investments in artificial intelligence, strong overall corporate profits have helped allay concerns on Wall Street about shares being overpriced. Roughly 85 per cent of companies in the S&P 500 have reported their results and overall earnings growth for the period is shaping up to be the strongest since 2021. By Elaine Kurtenbach
