The Standard & Poor’s (S&P)& 500 index rose for a fifth straight day yesterday while US Treasury prices tumbled after the American unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to a near four-year low.

Stocks in Europe ended sharply higher today after positive retail sales data from the US helped ease concerns that the world’s largest economy is heading back into recession.

Stocks have rebounded as investors breathed a sigh of relief at the news that the US added more jobs than expected during July, putting a halt to one of the worst sell-offs since the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

THE US dollar gained the most in three weeks against the euro yesterday after a Treasury Department report showed investors bought US assets at the fastest pace since February.