by Laetitia Volga

PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended higher on Thursday in a quiet session before the publication of the much-awaited US jobs report and a long Easter weekend.

In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.12% to 7,324.75 points. The British Footsie gained 1.03% and the German Dax 0.5%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index advanced 0.26%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.49% and the Stoxx 600 0.51%.

This takes 0.24% over the week shortened by the Good Friday holiday. US markets will reopen on Monday and those in Europe on Tuesday.

Investors will therefore have a time lag on Friday’s publication of the monthly report on employment in the United States, which could reinforce growing concerns about the slowing economy.

Several activity and labor market indicators suggest that the Federal Reserve’s restrictive policy is really starting to dampen demand, which is fueling fears of a possible recession in the world’s largest economy but also hopes for a break. next in interest rate hikes.

For traders, the Fed could just as well keep the federal funds rate target between 4.75% and 5% and raise it by a quarter point in May, according to the FedWatch barometer.

At the time of the close in Europe, the Dow Jones lost 0.21%, the S&P-500 was flat while the Nasdaq advanced 0.31%

VALUES

The European real estate sector posted the best performance of the day with an increase of 2.7%. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (+2.37%) finished in the top tier of the CAC 40, along with BNP Paribas (+2.51%) and Thales (+2.67%).

On the SBF 120 side, Accor shares stood out with a gain of 5.04% thanks to Stifel’s move from “hold” to “buy”.

THE INDICATORS OF THE DAY

German industrial production rose much more than expected in February, thanks in part to the automotive sector, which could help Germany avoid a recession in the first quarter.

“The data series for February shows a strong comeback of German industry (…) German industry is more resilient than feared,” said Carsten Brzeski at ING.

In the United States, the number of jobless claims did not fall as much as expected over the week to April 1 and that of the previous week was revised upwards, confirming the idea that the labor market is marking time in the face of Fed rate hikes.

RATES/EXCHANGES

Yields on benchmark government bonds in Europe ended close to balance, at 2.18% for the ten-year German Bund and 2.7% for its French equivalent.

The yield of Treasuries of the same maturity is stable around 3.29% after having come close to a low in the morning since September at the prospect of a “pivot” from the Fed.

On the foreign exchange market, the “dollar index”, which measures the evolution of the greenback against a reference basket, is little changed, as is the euro at 1.092.

OIL

The oil market is heading for an increase of more than 6% for the whole week thanks to the unexpected decision of OPEC+ to reduce its supply.

Over the day, Brent crude evolved without much change at 85.02 dollars a barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) at 80.61 dollars.

(Laetitia Volga, edited by Camille Raynaud)

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