European Stocks Close On Bright Note Amid Easing Worries About Rate Hikes

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed on a strong note, snapping a long losing streak, after data showing an uptick in U.S. unemployment rate helped ease concerns about aggressive monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve.

The Labor Department's report showed non-farm payroll employment rose by 315,000 jobs in August after surging by a revised 526,000 jobs in July.

Economists had expected employment to increase by about 300,000 jobs compared to the jump of 528,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate edged up to 3.7% in August from 3.5% in July. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

Also, traders indulged in some bargain hunting in stocks that had suffered sharp losses in the recent sessions.

Investors shrugged off data showing a drop in German exports in July.

Markets also reacted to news that Russia has indicated that flows along the Gazprom pipeline system will be resumed tomorrow as expected and at the same level as before the works.

The pan European Stoxx 600 advanced 2.04%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index surged 1.86%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 climbed 2.21% and 2.91%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI gained 2.14%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed sharply higher.

Greece, Norway and Portugal also closed higher, albeit with less pronounced gains, while Czech Republic edged down marginally.

Energy and mining stocks closed higher, tracking firm commodity prices.

In the UK market, ABRDN surged 7.25% and Prudential climbed 6.25%. Smith & Nephew, Fresnillo, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Scottish Mortgage, Segro, Antofagasta, JD Sports Fashion, Barclays, Ashtead Group, ICP, St. James' Place, Smith (DS), Schrodders and Spirax-Sarco Engineering gained 4 to 6%.

In Paris, Atos soared nearly 7%. Societe Generale, Valeo, ArcelorMittal, Airbus Group, STMicroElectronics, Faurecia, Saint Gobain, Air France-KLM, Unibail Rodamco, Capgemini, Renault, BNP Paribas, Sodexo, Engie, Safran, Publicis Groupe and Credit Agricole gained 3 to 5%.

Data from Destatis showed Germany's exports dropped for the first time in four months in July and imports logged an unexpected decline, adding to the list of negative data suggesting a recession later this year.

Exports decreased 2.1% on a monthly basis, in contrast to the 4.2% increase in June, Destatis reported. This was the first decrease in four months and slower than economists' forecast of -2.3%.

At the same time, imports unexpectedly fell 1.5%, reversing a 0.1% rise in June. Economists had forecast a monthly growth of 0.8%.

As a result, the trade surplus declined to a seasonally adjusted EUR 5.4 billion from EUR 6.2 billion in the previous month. However, the surplus was above the expected EUR 4.8 billion.

Eurozone producer price inflation accelerated unexpectedly to a fresh record high in July on soaring energy prices, data released by Eurostat showed on Friday, adding pressure on the European Central Bank to act forcefully against runaway inflation when policymakers meet next week.

Producer prices surged 37.9% year-on-year in July, following a 36% rise in June, which was revised up from 35.8%. Economists had forecast the same 35.8% increase for July.

Switzerland's employment level increased in the three months ended June, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed on Friday.

Employment level, or number of jobs, rose to 5.316 million in the second quarter from 5.273 million in the first quarter. The total employment increased 3.2% annually and by 0.7 percent quarterly in the June quarter.