Europe shares close lower after disappointing US jobs report
Major European bourses were seen in the red, with only the FTSE 100 posting slim gains by the close, ending up 0.20 percent. The French CAC 40 closed down 0.36 percent, while Germany’s DAX finished the week at -0.09 percent.
The latest batch of nonfarm payrolls data, a key metric for the U.S. Federal Reserve, showed that the U.S. had lost 33,000 jobs during the month of September.
Economists had expected the nation to add 90,000 new jobs during last month, after recent hurricanes wreaked havoc in the region. Digging deeper into the data, the unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent last month and the jobs number for August was revised upwards.
Following the news, U.S. stocks were trading mostly in the red at the European market close, with the S&P 500 threatening to snap its eight-day winning streak.
Switching back to Europe, construction and material stocks were among the biggest losers on Friday, finishing the day’s trading down 0.9 percent. This comes after the Irish building materials firm CRH looked to have been outbid in the race for U.S. cement maker Ash Grove. CRH shares closed down 1.83 percent.
In the meantime, miners and oil stocks closed down deep into the red—with Tullow Oil dropping 4.56 percent, making it the STOXX 600’s worst performer—as both metal and crude prices came under sharp pressure in later trade. Oil prices fell roughly 3 percent around the close, ending a multi-week bull run on profit-taking and the resurgence of oversupply concerns among investors.
On the positive side, British manufacturer Cobham popped 2.57 percent after UBS raised its price target on the stock.
Elsewhere, autos was one of the few sectors trying to post gains during trade, with French firm Renault closing up 0.49 percent. The sector however ended roughly flat. This comes after the car-maker pledged to deliver a 44 percent sales increase by 2022, according to Reuters.
However, all was not well in transportation stocks, as airline easyJet fell 1.63 percent despite reporting record sales for the summer Friday. Fellow rival Ryanair sank almost 3 percent.
In the currency markets, the British pound fared its worst week in a year as concerns swirl around U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s leadership of her Conservative party, according to Reuters.
Looking to banking stocks, the sector was trading in negative territory as investors showed concern over the political instability seen in Spain. The Spanish Constitutional Court ordered the regional parliament of Catalonia to close on Monday, raising doubts over whether the region will be able to declare independence from Spain.
However, on Friday morning the Catalonian government said that it will meet despite the court order. The Spanish IBEX hit a session low after that announcement, but has since pared some losses. The index closed down 0.29 percent.
Banco Sabadell said Thursday that it would shift its headquarters out of Catalonia and Caixabank is set to make a decision on a move Friday. Both Spanish banks were trading near the bottom of the sector’s index by the close.
Source: CNBC
