US stocks rally hinges on February jobs data

US stocks rose last week to the highest level since the start of 2016 because of incipient signs that the 2016 market storm is clearing.

If February jobs data due on Friday is consistent with other reports showing that the US recovery is still alive, stocks could add to those gains. "(The focus) continues to be on whether or not the economy is moving into a recession," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial.

China and commodities markets have borne the brunt of the 2016 market storm. Late last week, China's hint of stimulus brought buyers into the Shanghai Composite index and futures for copper and other industrial metals.

Oil futures, the most influential commodity of them all, also bounced, coming off 13-year lows to approach US$35 a barrel as officials from Venezuela insisted that production-control talks with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar were still on. Prices wobbled mid-week when an Iranian official d…