European Stocks Close On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks ended on a mixed note on Friday with investors continuing to digest recent central bank policy announcements, and reacting to stronger than expected U.S. non-farm payrolls data that has raised doubts about an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve anytime soon.

The Fed, which decided to leave interest rate unchanged after its policy meeting on Wednesday, said an interest rate cut in March is quite unlikely.

The Bank of England, which too held interest rates steady, has hinted at a rate cut sometime in the near future.

The Labor Department's data today showed non-farm payroll employment spiked by 353,000 jobs in January compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 180,000 jobs.

The report also showed significantly stronger than previously reported job growth in December, with employment surging by 333,000 jobs during the month compared to the jump of 216,000 jobs that had been reported.

The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate in January came in unchanged from the previous month at 3.7%. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to inch up to 3.8%.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.01%. Germany's DAX climbed 0.35%, France's CAC 40 crept up 0.05%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.09%. Switzerland's SMI advanced 0.23%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Portugal ended weak.

Belgium, Greece, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher, while Netherlands and Russia ended flat.

In the UK market, Barclays Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Tesco, Sainsbury J and BT gained 2.3 to 3.5%. Vodafone Group, GlaxoSmithKline, F&C Investment Trust, Diageo, British American Tobacco, WPP and Prudential ended higher by 1 to 2%.

Endeavour Mining drifted down more than 3%. Mondi, Fresnillo, Ocado Group, Anglo American Plc, BP, Croda International, JD Sports Fashion, Royal Dutch Shell, Glencore, Centrica, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and National Grid lost 1 to 2.6%.

In the German market, Porsche rallied 4.2%. Deutsche Bank climbed about 3.3%, Zalando gained 2.7% and Mercedes-Benz advanced 2.3%.

Adidas gained more than 1% after the sportswear giant said that it intends to sell the remaining stock of Yeezy sneakers from its discontinued collaboration with Kanye West, at a minimum of the production cost.

Commerzbank, Puma, Bayer, Volkswagen, BASF, Infineo, BMW and MTU Aero Engines also ended notably higher.

Siemens Healthineers ended lower by about 3%. E.ON shed 2.8%, while Sartorius, Fresenius, Vonovia, Merck, Covestro and Symrise lost 1 to 2%.

In the French market, Renault rallied nearly 3%. Edenred, Hermes International, Stellantis, Schneider Electric, Carrefour and Credit Agricole gained 1.5 to 2.4%.

Teleperformance, WorldLine, Alstom, Safran, Airbus, LVMH, ArcelorMittal and Societe Generale advanced 0.5 to 1.5%.

Dassault Systemes, Sanofi, BNP Paribas and Eurofins Scientific closed notably lower.

Data from the statistical office INSEE showed France's industrial production growth more than doubled in December, growing by 1.1% on a monthly basis, following November's 0.5% gain. The growth rate was forecast to ease to 0.2%.

Similarly, growth in manufacturing output advanced to 1.2% from 0.2% a month ago.

Within manufacturing output, manufacture of food products and beverages rebounded 1.5% after a 0.9% fall.