The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a nine-year low of 4.6 percent in November, as employers added another 178,000 jobs, making it almost certain that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this month.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 178,000 jobs last month after increasing by 142,000 in October, the Labor Department said on Friday.
Wages slipped for the first time in nearly a year though after two straight months of increases. Economists partially blamed the drop in average hourly earnings on a calendar quirk, which they expect Fed officials will overlook at their Dec. 13-14 policy meeting.
Average hourly earnings fell three cents, or 0.1 percent, after rising 0.4 percent in October and gaining 0.3 percent in September. Average hourly earnings fell for workers in mining, manufacturing and utilities in November.
Last month's drop in wages lowered the year-on-year gain to 2.5 percent in November from October's 2.8 percent increase, which was the largest rise in nearly 7-1/2 years.
A report released by the U.S.-based Institute for Supply Management showed its key non-manufacturing index increasing to a 57.2 level during the month of July, a figure which was better than expected and above the highest level of the consensus range.
Italian center-left Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he will resign on Monday, after conceding an "extraordinary clear" defeat in an Italian constitutional referendum.
The defeat of the referendum was resounding, with nearly 60% of voters saying "no" with a high turnout of nearly 70%.
Renzi announced Monday he would step down after being defeated in a constitutional reform referendum, as voters showed a "clear" rejection of legislative reform measures. However, Renzi is expected to stay on until the passage of a federal budget in the next few days.
The euro fell to a 20 month low against the dollar at the prospect of instability in the eurozone's third biggest economy.
On the currency front, the euro was trading at 1.0757 against the dollar as of 6:48 am HK/SIN. The pair had fallen to a 20-month low of $1.0503 on Monday.
The Euro currency initially slumped to a 20-month low on the Italian no-vote, but quickly recovered those losses to trade higher on the day. European stock markets were mostly higher Monday. This was a classic “sell the rumor, buy the fact” scenario
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, was tracking 100.09, down from Monday's levels above 101.
Brent crude oil prices rose above $55 a barrel on Monday, trading at a fresh 16-month high, as optimism spread about the prospect of a tightening market after OPEC members agreed on a landmark deal to cut production last week.
Brent crude oil futures, the global benchmark used to trade oil, soared to its highest since July 2015 to $55.33 a barrel. It last traded up 24 cents at $54.70 a barrel at 2:39 p.m. ET (1939 GMT).
(WTI) crude oil settled up 11 cents at $51.79 a barrel. It earlier rose as high as $52.42, also a high going back to July 2015.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC, CNN
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