GLOBAL MARKETS-Oil rally helps lifts equities; Wall St at record

Dear Viewers,

NEW YORK U.S. stocks climbed on Monday to set a record peak and European equity markets also advanced, buoyed by strong gains in the energy sector as oil prices surged to a three-week high.

Both Brent and U.S. crude LCOc1 jumped more than 4 percent to hit their highest levels in about three weeks, as the dollar weakened. The gains were also helped by comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin that raised expectations major oil producing countries could reach a deal to limit output at a meeting next week.

Among U.S. equities, the S&P energy index .SPNY gained 2.1 percent as the top-performing sector, helping to push the benchmark S&P 500 index above its intraday record of 2,193,81 set on Aug. 15. The advance put the index on pace to set a closing high.

"It’s in that mindset now, we have broken up and out, we are testing the highs, so new highs beget new highs," said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O’Neil Securities in New York. "Now it’s all psychological."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 65.85 points, or 0.35 percent, to 18,933.78, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 14.38 points, or 0.66 percent, to 2,196.28 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 39.73 points, or 0.75 percent, to 5,361.24.

The Nasdaq hit an intraday record for a second day, reaching as high as 5,364.76, but market participants cautioned that volume was likely to be light this week ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday.

The climb in oil lifted European markets, with the STOXX Europe oil & gas index .SXEP up 2.1 percent. Europe's index of leading 300 shares .FTEU3 closed up 0.3 percent. MSCI's all-country world index .MIWD00000PUS advanced 0.6 percent.

The dollar .DXY eased 0.06 percent to 101.15 against a basket of major currencies, pausing after a 10-day streak that saw it gaining nearly 5 percent. That rally was fueled by expectations of policies by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that would lead to interest rate increases.

In similar fashion, U.S. Treasury yields, which have soared in the wake of the U.S. election, declined from one-year highs as the recent selloff tempted some new buyers. Benchmark 10-year note yields US10YT=RR jumped as high as 2.36 percent on Friday and were last up 2/32 in price to yield 2.3298 percent.

Sterling GBP= climbed 1 percent against the dollar to $1.2461 as the market processed British Prime Minister Theresa May's latest hints on the possible shape of Britain's exit from the European Union.

Copper prices CMCU3, which have risen on Trump's promise to spend heavily on infrastructure, were up 2.4 percent CMCU3 at $5,553.50 a tonne on the prospect of better demand in top consumer China and on the dip in the greenback.

The pause in the U.S. dollar rally helped gold XAU= bounce from a 5-1/2 month low. Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,210.86 an ounce. Thanks.

UPDATE 1-UK privacy watchdog says Facebook agrees to suspend using WhatsApp users

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BRUSSELS Britain's privacy watchdog said on Monday that Facebook (FB.O) has agreed to suspend using data from UK users of its WhatsApp messaging app after the watchdog said consumers weren't properly protected.

The watchdog said the social media giant faces action if it uses such data without valid consent.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) had said in August that it would monitor WhatsApp's new privacy policy, after WhatsApp, acquired by Facebook in 2014, said it would share user data with its parent company.

"We're pleased that they've agreed to pause using data from UK WhatsApp users for advertisements or product improvement purposes," the head of ICO, Elizabeth Denham, said in a statement.

"If Facebook starts using the data without valid consent, they may face enforcement action from my office," she said.

The regulator said it had also asked Facebook and WhatsApp to sign an undertaking committing to better explaining to customers how their data would be used and to give them ongoing control over the information.

However, the companies have so far not agreed.

"We think consumers deserve a greater level of information and protection, but so far Facebook hasn't agreed," Denham said.

Facebook and WhatsApp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The two companies have also come under scrutiny from the wider group of the EU's 28 data protection authorities, who last month requested that the popular messaging service pause sharing users' data with its parent company until the appropriate legal protections could be assured.

Denham said she did not think users had been given enough information about what Facebook would do with their data and that WhatsApp had not obtained valid consent.

Enforcement action could ultimately lead to fines. Such fines are small compared to the revenues of the companies concerned. However, a new EU-wide data protection law coming into force in 2018 would change that with fines of up to 4 percent of global turnover.

Denham said she would keep pushing the issue along with other privacy watchdogs, notably the Irish authority which has the most sway over Facebook since the U.S. company's European headquarters are in Ireland. Thanks.

US STOCKS-S&P set to snap losing streak after strong jobs report

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Wall Street gained modestly on Friday after a strong U.S. employment report as investors sought bargains after a spate of selling sparked by uncertainty over the impending U.S. elections.

The S&P 500 was on track to snap a streak of eight straight days of declines, which had been the benchmark's longest run of down days since the 2008 financial crisis. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was also on pace to snap an eight-session losing streak.

Over its losing streak, the S&P 500 had fallen nearly 3 percent. Investors have been unnerved by signs of a tightening presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, after Clinton had until recently been thought to have a clear lead.

"Investors are buying anything that looks like a dip and that is because the fundamentals continue to be pretty good even though I think there is a lot of anxiety about next week’s election," said Kate Warne, investment strategist with Edward Jones in St. Louis. "With the pullback, I think investors are seeing some bargains out there."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 5.24 points, or 0.03 percent, to 17,935.91, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 3.78 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,092.44 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 5.47 points, or 0.11 percent, to 5,063.88.

U.S. employers maintained a strong pace of hiring in October and boosted wages for workers, the Labor Department report on Friday showed. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 161,000 jobs last month amid gains in construction, healthcare and professional and business services.

While that was below economists' forecast for growth of 175,000 jobs, solid labor market fundamentals were underscored by revisions to August and September data, which showed 44,000 more jobs created than previously reported.

"The upward revisions over the last two months suggest that the overall picture is continued job growth," Warne said. "That means that consumers have more money and that should continue to support economic growth."

For the year, the S&P 500 is up 2.5 percent.

In an encouraging sign for stocks, S&P 500 companies are on pace to increase earnings by 3.9 percent in the third quarter, ending a four-quarter streak of profit declines, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Higher-than-expected quarterly profits from biotech company Regeneron (REGN.O) and health insurer Humana (HUM.N) lifted those companies' shares along with the S&P healthcare sector .SPXHC, which was the best performing group on Friday.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.55-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.75-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 4 new 52-week highs and 13 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 28 new highs and 126 new lows. Thanks.