New York, NY (BBN)– The dollar jumped after stronger-than-expected US jobs figures raised the prospect of a rate increase in December.
The economy added 271,000 jobs in October, well ahead of forecasts, while the jobless rate fell to 5%, reports BBC.
Against the euro, the dollar rose by more than one cent to €0.9325, and it climbed above 123 yen at one point before dropping back to 122.83 yen.
Stocks on Wall Street fluctuated in early trade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose at first, but then fell back to stand 27.92 points lower at 17,835.51.
The S&P 500 index dropped 6.81 points to 2,093.12, while the Nasdaq index was flat at 5,127.77.
The Federal Reserve meets to discuss interest rates next month and many analysts now believe it will raise rates from the current level of near zero.
“These figures, held alongside [Fed chair Janet] Yellen’s statement last month, give us a strong reason to believe that a December rate rise by the Fed is almost a certainty,” said Sanjiv Shah, chief investment officer at Sun Global Investments.
Financial stocks saw some of the biggest gains, with JP Morgan Chase up 3.3% and Goldman Sachs rising 3.2%.
Shares in biotech firm ZS Pharma jumped 41% after AstraZeneca said it would buy the biotech company for $2.7bn.
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