Global shares gain after Dow breaks record, Koreas set talks

World stock markets rose Friday after the Dow Jones industrial average finished above 25,000 for the first time. An agreement by North and South Korea to hold talks also lifted sentiment. Investors were looking ahead to a U.S. jobs reports.

KEEPING SCORE

Germany’s DAX gained 0.6 percent to 13,245.58 and the CAC 40 of France added 0.4 percent to 5,434.30. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.2 percent to 7,710.86. Dow futures were up 0.2 percent at 25,097.00 and Standard & Poors 500 futures climbed 0.1 percent to 2,727.70, pointing to future gains in New York.

THE DAY IN ASIA

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.9 percent to 23,714.53 and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.3 percent to 2,497.52. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 0.3 percent to 30,814.64 while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2 percent to 3,391.75. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.7 percent to 6,122.30. In Southeast Asia, stocks were mostly higher.

ANALYST’S TAKE

“Global growth is currently the dominant theme for equity markets,” Rick Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said in a daily commentary. “If the latest U.S. employment data beats expectations, it could validate this theme and lend weight to the stock market rally.”

U.S. JOBS

The U.S. government is due to release its December jobs report later in the day. Analysts forecast that American employers added 195,000 jobs and the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent. Earlier Thursday, a report showed private U.S. businesses added 250,000 jobs last month, with smaller businesses adding 94,000.

KOREAS

On Friday, the rival Koreas agreed to hold their first official dialogue in more than two years next week to discuss ways to cooperate on the upcoming Winter Olympics in the South. Earlier, the United States and South Korea agreed to delay annual joint military exercises until after the Games, being held in Pyeongchang from Feb. 9-25.

OIL

Benchmark U.S. crude lost 27 cents to $61.74 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 38 cents to close at $62.01 a barrel on Thursday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 36 cents to $67.71 per barrel in London. On Thursday, it rose 23 cents to $68.07 a barrel.

CURRENCIES

The dollar rose to 113.19 yen from 112.76 yen. The euro fell to $1.2055 from $1.2068.