Stocks Showing Swagger

Investors pleased with employment news coming out the U.S. lifted world stock prices Monday on hopes that a recession will be avoided. Still, a sour mood paused Europe where the chief economist at the International Monetary Fund said he expected growth on the continent and the U.S. to be weak. The jump in some markets—Japan's Nikkei closed up 2.05 percent—may be explained by Asian investors catching up to the news that the U.S. employment picture is not as bleak as predicted. The U.S. stock market is closed Monday due to Labor Day.