Stocks cheer prospects for low rates, oil rides pipeline outage higher

Stocks cheer prospects for low rates, oil rides pipeline outage higher

TOKYO - Stocks rose on Monday amid speculation that interest rates will remain low due to receding inflationary pressure, while oil and gas prices jumped after a cyber attack on a U.S. pipeline operator unnerved markets. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3%, while U.S. stock futures rose 0.14%. Australian stocks hit their highest in more than a year, boosted by gains in miners, but shares in China fell 0.74%. Japanese shares gained 0.53%. Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.42%, German DAX futures were up 0.32%, and FTSE futures rose 0.37%, pointing to a strong start to the European session. U.S. nonfarm payrolls data on Friday showed jobs growth unexpectedly slowed in April, which gave equities a lift but put downward pressure on the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields. Oil and gasoline futures extended gains after a cyber attack shut down a U.S. pipeline operator that provides nearly half of the U.S. east coast's fuel supply. "It certainly pushes back the timetable for Fed tapering, perhaps to December from the prior expectations of the Jackson Hole Symposium in late August," Chris Weston, head of research at broker Pepperstone in Melbourne, wrote in a memo. "A softer