Also Friday, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, reiterated her strong support for the euro, a move that helped bolster European stocks.

The American unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent, after having been stuck around 9 percent for most of 2011, the Labor Department said.

The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index rose 0.7 percent in early trading, while the Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq composite index added 0.6 percent.

In Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 added 1.5 percent by late afternoon. The FTSE 100 in London rose 1.1 percent and the DAX in Frankfurt increased 0.9 percent.

Mrs. Merkel told the German Parliament in a speech Friday that the future of the euro was time to fix the “mistakes of construction” in the euro zone.

Closer fiscal ties might also help to reduce German reticence toward jointly issued euro-bonds and a more active bond-buying by the European Central Bank, two steps that are also widely regarded as necessary for saving the currency.

“Mrs. Merkel is saying very clearly that she’s moving toward acceptance of euro bonds,” David Thébault, head of quantitative sales trading at Global Equities in Paris, said. “But in return she wants fiscal union.”

“Things have really advanced in Europe since last weekend,” Mr. Thébault said. “Germany and France are imposing budgetary rigor, and the E.C.B. has responded by becoming more accommodating.”

Asian shares were mostly higher. The Tokyo benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.5 percent, while the Sydney market index S.P./ASX 200 rose 1.4 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 0.2 percent.

But the Shanghai composite index fell 1.1 percent.

Nicholas Kulish contributed reporting from Berlin.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=661d2dee05494c9daeff14e9b48245f3