by Valentine Baldassari
(Reuters) – European stock markets closed slightly higher on Friday and Wall Street was also in the green at midday, after a volatile session marked by the publication of monthly employment figures in the United States which testify the robustness of the labor market but at the same time raise fears of a tightening of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended with a gain of 0.44% to 6,033.13 points while the German Dax rose by 1.34%. The British Footsie, initially down, closed up 0.1%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index gained 0.52%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.41% and the Stoxx 600 0.51%.
Over the week as a whole, the Parisian index gained 1.72% and the pan-European Stoxx 600 1.97%.
The equity market session was also marked by some caution linked to the pullback in commodities amid concerns over demand as China rolls out new health restrictions to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. 19.
The murder of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, shot on Friday while campaigning in the western Japanese city of Nara ahead of the senatorial elections, has also affected the Tokyo Stock Exchange and reduced the risk appetite.
On the economic indicator side, the United States Department of Labor indicated that the United States economy had created more jobs than expected in June, while the unemployment rate remained stable at 3.6% and the average hourly wage posted a further increase of 0.3%.
The publication of this statistic sent Wall Street back at the open but the indices turned around at the close of European stock markets as investors digested the new data, now seeming to be turning their attention to consumer price figures, which will be published on Wednesday, and especially the kick-off next week of the earnings season for large companies.
WALL STREET
At the time of the close in Europe, the Dow Jones advanced 0.1%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 0.03% and the Nasdaq 0.09%.
The major US banks, which had risen at the start of the session on the back of an anticipation of higher rates, are now stable, their index nibbling only 0.05%.
On the upside, the results of Levi Strauss & co’s are welcomed, while Twitter fell by more than 4%, the Washington Post having reported that the plan to buy the social network by Elon Musk was “seriously threatened”.
VALUES IN EUROPE
On the pan-European Stoxx 600, the automotive compartment posted the strongest sector increase (+3.28%). Stellantis and Renault gained 3.84% and 2.56% respectively.
The utilities sector, on the other hand, posted the largest drop 0.62%.
EDF gained 5.63%, continuing to benefit from the renationalization project announced on Wednesday.
CHANGES
On the currency market, the euro rose to 1.0168 dollars after nearly falling below parity with the greenback. “The chances of the euro-dollar reaching parity are not negligible, either today or in the next few days,” Francesco Pesole told ING. “Momentum in favor of the dollar remains strong and worries about the economic outlook for the eurozone are fueling fears that the ECB may not tighten as much as markets anticipate,” he added. The dollar, which has peaked since late 2002, fell 0.11% against a benchmark basket. The yen is stabilizing after rising 0.5% immediately after the attack targeting Shinzo Abe.
RATE
Bond yields rose sharply in reaction to the publication of monthly employment figures in the United States: that of ten-year Treasuries recovered more than eight basis points to 3.0934% and in its wake and that of the German Bund to ten-year ended up more than five basis points at 1.342%.
OIL
Oil prices are also volatile and are headed lower for the week as a result of demand concerns.
The barrel of Brent gained 2.11% to 106.86 dollars and that of American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 1.62% to 104.39 dollars.
(Written by Valentine Baldassari, with Claude Chendjou, edited by)