S&P 500 heads for record high; commodities rally

New York

US STOCKS jumped, pushing the S&P 500 Index within striking distance of an all-time high, and the dollar headed for a weekly gain after a surge in hiring alleviated concern about the strength of the world's largest economy.

The S&P 500 traded 0.1 per cent away from the record it set last year, erasing losses triggered by Britain's vote to exit the European Union or Brexit. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped while the greenback strengthened versus the euro after US payroll growth accelerated by the most since October. Brazil's real led gains in emerging-market currencies as the government announced plans for a narrower budget deficit in 2017.

Payrolls climbed by 287,000 last month, exceeding the highest estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Officials at the Federal Reserve had flagged job creation as a concern at their last meeting, which followed data showing employers in May added the fewest workers since 2010, casting doubts on p…