European Markets Pared Their Losses After U.S. Jobs Report

(RTTNews) - The European markets got off to a weak start Friday and were stuck in a sideways trend until the release of the highly anticipated U.S. jobs report. The markets pared their losses following the release of the report and ended the day with relatively small losses.

Traders remained in a cautious mood ahead of some key events this weekend. The Italian constitutional referendum will take place on Sunday, as well as elections in Austria. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has pledged to resign in the event of a "no vote" on the referendum. The latest opinion polls show a notable lead for the 'no' vote camp.

Employment in the U.S. increased by a little more than economists had been anticipating in the month of November, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday. The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 178,000 jobs in November following a downwardly revised increase of 142,000 jobs in October.

Economists had expected employment to increase by about 170,000 jobs compared to the addition of 161,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent in November from 4.9 percent in October. The unemployment rate had been expected to remain unchanged.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index weakened by 0.32 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 0.52 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.25 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped 0.20 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.70 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.33 percent, but the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.06 percent.

In Frankfurt, Aixtron dropped 0.65 percent on a report that U.S. President Barack Obama plans to block a Chinese company from buying the German chip equipment maker.

CompuGroup Medical SE advanced 1.01 percent. The medical software company has decided to not continue its discussions over potential acquisition of Belgian graphics group Agfa-Gevaert.

Commerzbank declined 1.95 percent and Deutsche Bank fell 1.55 percent.

In Paris, BNP Paribas weakened by 1.99 percent and Societe Generale surrendered 1.64 percent. Credit Agricole also finished lower by 1.07 percent.

In London, Berkeley Group Holding jumped 8.49 percent. The homebuilder reported better-than-expected first-half earnings and revenue despite uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

Laird plunged 7.42 percent on equity dilution worries.

Royal Bank of Scotland decreased 3.15 percent and Barclays forfeited 2.85 percent.

Randgold Resources climbed 2.10 percent and Fresnillo gained 1.86 percent as gold prices bounced back. Polymetal International also rose 0.94 percent.

Swiss Re rose 0.60 percent in Zurich after the reinsurer reiterated its commitment to achieve the individual Business Units' return on equity and its two Group financial targets over the cycle.

Eurozone producer prices rose for the second straight month in October, and at a faster-than-expected pace, figures from Eurostat showed Friday.

Industrial producer prices climbed 0.8 percent month-over-month in October, exceeding economists' expectations for an increase of 0.4 percent. That was also faster than the 0.1 percent slight rise in September.

U.K. construction sector expanded at a faster pace in November on robust activity and new orders, survey data from IHS Markit showed Friday.

The Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose unexpectedly to 52.8 in November from 52.6 in October. The score was forecast to fall to 52.2.

Switzerland's economic activity stagnated in the third quarter as the strength in investment was offset by negative net trade, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said Friday.

Gross domestic product was unchanged in the third quarter after expanding 0.6 percent a quarter ago. The economy was forecast to grow 0.3 percent.

Finland's economy grew in the third quarter, after contracting in the previous three months, preliminary data from Statistics Finland showed Friday. Gross domestic product grew a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent from the second quarter, which was slightly slower than the 0.5 percent expansion estimated earlier.

Spain's unemployment increased in November, data from the labor ministry showed Friday. The number of registered unemployed increased by 24,841 in November from prior month. Consequently, the people out of work totaled 3.78 million.