Global markets extended their gains on Friday night, as lower-than-forecast August jobs growth in the US stoked speculation the Federal Reserve will unveil further stimulus measures.

European markets were broadly higher, with the Stoxx Europe 600 up 0.2%. The index reached a 14-month high in intraday trading before pulling back.

In London the UK's FTSE 100 put on 17 points (+0.3%) to settle at 5795, whilst the CAC (+0.3%) and DAX (+0.7%) enjoyed similar gains.

Stateside, the Dow Jones put on 15 points (+0.1%) to settle at 13307, whilst the S&P (+0.4%) and NASDAQ (flat) were more mixed.

The US economy added 96,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department reported, short of economists’ expectation for 125,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate, obtained in a separate survey, fell to 8.1% from 8.3% a month earlier, bucking economists’ predictions for it to remain unchanged.

For the week, the Dow rose 1.6%, the most since late July, and the S&P 500 had its steepest increase, 2.2%, since early June, thanks to a rally after ECB President Mario Draghi detailed a bond-buying program aimed at cutting the borrowing rates of the euro zone’s most debt-strapped countries.

Crude oil prices rose 0.9%, to settle at $96.42 a barrel, while gold prices added 2%, to finish at $1,737.50 a troy ounce. The greenback fell against the euro and yen. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.662%.

Today's session will bring us data in the form of home loans at 11:30am, AEST.

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Morning Market Analysis: Bulls Press Higher is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog