LONDON/TOKYO—Global stocks drifted on Thursday, following skittish trade in the Asian session, as traders awaited crucial U.S. jobs data that may add to mounting evidence of a U.S. slowdown and the likelihood of a global recession. The broad MSCI index of world stocks dipped 0.1 percent, putting it on track for its first weekly decline…

LONDON—World stock markets stumbled on Wednesday as signs that the economic outlook is weakening spurred caution, while a bigger-than-expected interest-rate hike from New Zealand lifted the kiwi dollar. European stocks fell with the broad STOXX 600 index pulling away from Tuesday’s one-month highs. U.S. equity futures dipped and Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.6 percent in its…

LONDON—Global stocks rose in cautious trade on Tuesday as investors grappled with the possibility of a flare-up in inflation due to the OPEC+ group’s surprise output cut, while the dollar sagged after weak U.S. manufacturing data the previous day. An announcement on Sunday of an output target cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting…

SYDNEY/LONDON—Oil prices surged on Monday after Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ producers announced a surprise cut in their output target, a move that rippled through stock markets and boosted the dollar due to reinvigorated fears about the stickiness of global inflation. Brent oil futures looked set for its biggest daily percentage gain in around a…

LONDON—Share markets pushed for a fifth straight day of gains on Friday and bonds headed for their best month since 2008, as a record monthly drop in the eurozone’s inflation rate raised investors’ expectations for similar U.S. data later in the day. With an action-packed first quarter also drawing to a close world stocks were…