Stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic rose yesterday, hailing US jobs data that confounded expectations, showing the lowest unemployment rate in half a century. In London, the FTSE 100 closed up 0.4% to 7,380.64 points; Frankfurt — DAX 30 ended up 0.6% to 12,412.75 points and Paris — CAC 40 closed up 0.2% to 5,548.84 points yesterday. Before the opening bell on Wall Street, the US government reported another giant month of job creation in April, with strong hiring in the vast services sector and unemployment falling to a level not seen since December 1969, when Richard Nixon was in the White House. “No signs of a slowdown here,” said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING. Crucially, investors will no longer need to rely on hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts to underpin their optimism, he said. “The market is pricing Fed rate cuts, but we really don’t see the need,” Knightley said. “Neither too hot nor too cold,” said Stephen Innes, Head of Trading at SPI, calling the US data “another Goldilocks” payroll report. “The US economy remains in the sweet spot with extremely robust labour markets driving strong consumption growth but apparently without stoking the inflationary fires,” he said. US stocks advanced in reaction, while European equities were higher at the close. The London market shrugged off news that Britain’s two main parties faltered badly in UK local elections, as voters vented their frustration with the prolonged Brexit deadlock. “London stocks were largely unperturbed by the results as clearly bigger decisions await between now and (the) October” Brexit deadline, noted Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index trading group. The US jobs figures came after the head of the Federal Reserve disappointed markets on Wednesday by saying that recent weak inflation was “transitory”, denting hopes the US central bank would consider an interest rate cut this year. The dollar rose at first as this scenario seemed to be borne out by the jobs data, but then lost ground against the euro in late European business. On the trade front, there was some unease after a report in Chinese media speculated that negotiators from China and the US had hit an impasse in the trade negotiations, citing the fact there were few details from their most recent talks in Beijing this week. “Whilst these are just initial reports, clearly anything that suggests the US and China won’t agree a deal will rattle investors,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst for Markets.com. However, the National Australia Bank pointed out that the comments contradicted reports by Politico and CNBC that suggested a deal could come as soon as next Friday. US Vice President Mike Pence said Friday that President Donald Trump remained “very hopeful” about the talks. In commodities trading yesterday, oil prices rebounded after main contracts Brent and WTI tumbled from touching six-month highs last week. Oil had been rallying in recent weeks on output cuts by producer nations, Iran supply concerns, unrest in fellow Opec members Libya and Venezuela and hopes for the China-US trade talks — before heavy profit-taking took hold

Over 10.777 million bales of cotton have arrived in 2018-19 season at various ginneries in Pakistan, as on May 1, 2019, down 6.94 per cent over arrival of 11.581 million bales during the corresponding period of last season, according to the latest fortnightly report on cotton arrivals, released by Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association (PCGA). In the major cotton producing province of Punjab, total cotton arrivals decreased by 9.55 per cent year-on-year to 6.628 million bales, according to the report prepared by PCGA, in joint cooperation with All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) and the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA). While in Sindh province, cotton arrivals decreased 2.45 per cent to 4.149 million bales as on May 1 during the ongoing cotton season 2018-19. Of the total arrival of 10.777 million bales at various ginneries in Pakistan, almost the same was pressed by ginners, of which 10.255 million bales were sold, leaving an unsold stock of 522.009 million bales with the ginners, as on May 1, according to the data. The textile mills in Pakistan consumed 10.151 million bales, while another 103.540 million bales of cotton were sold to exporters, according to the data. The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has not procured any bale of cotton so far this season. As of May 1, a total of 2 ginning factories were operational in Punjab compared to same number of ginneries that were operational during the same time last season. Similarly, 1 ginning unit was operational in the Sindh region, compared to 4 operating units during the corresponding period last year.

The Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco) plans to put at least 100,000 hectares under commercial cotton cultivation, with the sector poised to annually generate a minimum of $1 billion, according to managing director Pious Manamike, who recently said his company would start focussing on large estates keeping in view the climate-change issues being experienced. Manamike was speaking at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF). Large tracts of virgin land in Mashonaland Central, Kanyemba area (along the Zambezi Valley), Masvingo, and Matabeleland North in Binga area are being explored for the project, a newspaper report in the country quoted him as saying. In Zimbabwe, cotton is largely grown in Mashonaland West, the Midlands, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland Central provinces while in Matabeleland North only Binga district has over the years commercially grown the crop. Over the last 50 years, Cottco has managed to produce 250,000 tonnes of the white gold using communal farmers. It is hoped that the figure will exponentially rise through the planned commercial farming programme across the country. Cotton output in the southern African country of Zimbabwe has risen by 76 per cent year-on-year to 130,000 tonnes in the 2018 marketing season. The output is the highest in nearly five years, and has been achieved due to government support under the Presidential Inputs Scheme. Under the Presidential Inputs Scheme, the government gave various free support initiatives to farmers to help them increase their cotton cultivation.