Wall Street jumps on payrolls data

An unexpectedly strong report on US payrolls helped equities bounce back from four days of losses, tempering worries that stocks could suffer the sharp declines seen this week in commodities.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 54.64 points, or 0.43 percent, to 12,638.81. The Standard & Poor's 500 added 5.10 points, or 0.38 percent, to 1,340.20. The Nasdaq Composite rose 12.84 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,827.56.

European shares rallied after better-than-expected April US nonfarm payroll data improved investor confidence about the recovery and fund managers tipped equities for further progress.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 1.2 percent at 1,144.91 points following sharp falls in the previous sessions on growth worries and, in a positive signal for equities, moved above its 50-day average.

Japan's Nikkei average fell 1.5 percent as a rout in oil and commodity prices pummelled resource stocks and sent the yen higher, hurting shares of exporters, while caution ahead of US jobs data prompted profit-taking.

The Nikkei suffered its biggest daily percentage loss since April 12 after gaining 4.6 percent over the previous three trading sessions.

The benchmark Nikkei ended the day down 145.00 points at 9,859.20 and analysts said support is seen at its 5-day moving average of 9,755.The broader Topix fell 1.1 percent or 9.05 points to 856.50.