Friday saw stocks around the world plunge as investors reacted to the release of negative jobs data into the warm embrace of the precious metals market.

In the U.S., the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added a net 69,000 net nonfarm payrolls in May, way below expectations for an increase of around 150,000. April and March jobs figures were revised lower as well with the unemployment rate rising to 8.2% from 8.1%. This sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing down 2.22% on Friday; the S&P 500 index finished 2.46% lower whilst the Nasdaq Composite index closed down 2.82%. Less than inspiring manufacturing data helped send stocks falling too. The Institute for Supply Management reported that its national factory activity index dropped to 53.5 in May from 54.8 in April, just missing expectations for 53.9.

The weak jobs and tepid manufacturing  data in the US sparked widespread talk the Federal Reserve will consider stimulating the economy via monetary easing to ensure price stability and increase employment conditions.

Over in Europe, unemployment in the eurozone stood at 11% for April, unchanged from March, but still the highest since records began in 1995. Spain, who has been grabbing much of the investor focus and fears, had the highest rate in the eurozone at 24.3%, while Austria had the lowest at 3.9%. A seasonally adjusted total of 17.4 million people were unemployed in the eurozone, up from 17.3 million. In the 27-nation European Union, the jobless rate was 10.3%, up from 10.2%. The rate of unemployment in both France and Italy rose to 10.2%, from 10.1% in March, but Germany bucked the trend, with the rate of unemployment dropping to 5.4% from 5.5% the previous month.

The biggest gainers on Friday ended up being the safe havens Gold and Silver – up 3.93% and 2.59% respectively. However Monday looks like being a volatile day with lower openings predicted in EU stocks, but plenty of profit opportunities for the binary trader.

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