US stocks look to jobs data for direction

LAST week, US stock indices finished at record highs and completed their largest monthly gains since February, as the American economy regained some of its lustre for global investors and a wave of deal-making continued.

This week, stocks will likely build on those gains, as long as jobs data confirms the apparent move of the economic recovery into higher gear, and providing the conflict in Ukraine does not escalate further.

Second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.2 per cent, even stronger than previously thought, helped by a strengthening property market; that strength was confirmed by home-sales reports and another drop in weekly unemployment claims.