Most European stocks ended a choppy session higher on Friday, getting a boost from the U.S. where the main indexes rallied after better-than-expected labor market data. German stocks, however, trailed the rest of Europe after data on the country's exports and factory output indicated a slow start in activity at the start of 2018.

Nine years ago, on March 9, 2009, when the S&P 500 SPX, +1.74% bottomed at 676.53 following 15 months of precipitous declines, the current bull market in U.S. stocks was born. Since then, the market has gained nearly 350% including dividends. Despite the recent volatility, the bull has not shown serious signs of retiring.

Asia-Pacific stock markets were strongly higher Monday, building on a late-week rebound for the region's equities. Many markets rose at least 1%, building on similar gains in the U.S. on Friday after the strong U.S. jobs report.