Stocks rally on Obama jobs plan

Markets reassured as speech steers clear of bank reforms

LONDON: Global equities rallied yesterday as US President Barack Obama focused on job creation rather than any concrete details of banking reforms which have spooked financial markets.

Obama's proposals last week on restricting risk-taking and potentially breaking up the banking sector had fuelled a global market sell-off but his State of the Union speech was pinned chiefly to spurring job creation.