(Reuters) – European stock markets ended higher on Friday, led by the CAC 40 which ended a strong session after concerns about the political situation in France eased.

In Paris, the CAC 40 ended up 1.3% at 7,426.88 points, and the German Dax rose 0.13%. On the other hand, the British Footsie, weighed down by the defense and public services sectors, lost 0.49%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index is up 0.53%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.12% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.16%.

Markets recovered this Friday in the wake of the CAC 40, which climbed after President Emmanuel Macron declared his intention to appoint a new Prime Minister quickly so that Parliament can approve next year’s budget.

The British Footsie is an exception, slipping into the red with the defense and utilities sectors.

Investors are also digesting the release, earlier in the day, of the University of Michigan’s household sentiment index and the highly anticipated monthly employment report from the US Department of Labor.

These two indicators, which once again confirmed the resilience of the American economy but also showed a slight increase in the unemployment rate, reinforced bets in favor of a further reduction in rates from the Federal Reserve (Fed) during its meeting on December 17 and 18.

“This morning’s data is like a Thanksgiving buffet with a good jobs report and an upward revision, but unemployment is rising despite the declining participation rate,” said Lindsay Rosner, chief investment officer. multi-sector at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

“These numbers don’t kill the holiday spirit and the Fed remains on track for another cut in December,” she added.

VALUES

In terms of values, the index of European luxury values ​​advances 3%, propelled by Moncler which gains 4.96% after Goldman Sachs raised its recommendation on the stock.

In London, Direct Line closed the session at the top of the Footsie, advancing 5.59% after indicating that it was ready to accept the takeover offer from its rival Aviva.

Puig lost 3.51% after losing almost 9%, its Charlotte Tilburry brand having had to withdraw some of its finishing sprays from the market.

A WALL STREET

At closing time in Europe, Wall Street is trading in disarray, with traders finding support in their bets about a potential further rate cut by the Fed in December.

The Dow Jones lost 0.15%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 advanced 0.21% and the Nasdaq 0.72%.

On the value side, Lululemon jumped 17.24% after raising its outlook against a backdrop of strong demand for the holiday season.

Hewlett Packard gained 9.72% after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results on Thursday, citing strong demand for its artificial intelligence servers.

TODAY’S INDICATORS

American household morale improved more than expected in December, rising to 74.0 while analysts were forecasting 73.0, preliminary results of the monthly survey from the University of Michigan showed on Friday.

The US economy created more jobs than expected in November, shows the monthly report from the Labor Department released Friday. This report lists 227,000 non-agricultural jobs created over the month, while economists polled by Reuters forecast an average of 200,000 net creations.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the euro zone economy grew by 0.4% in the third quarter, in line with expectations, shows the final estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) published on Friday by Eurostat .

CHANGES

The dollar oscillated a lot this Friday, torn between the slight increase in the unemployment rate and job creation generally in line with expectations in the United States.

The dollar gained 0.25% against a basket of reference currencies.

In reaction, the euro lost 0.22% to 1.0563 dollars.

RATE

Against a backdrop of renewed debate in favor of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve at the December meeting after the employment report, US bond yields fell at mid-session.

The yield on ten-year Treasuries fell 1.2 basis points to 4.1703%. The two-year yields -4.2 basis points at 4.1040%.

The yield on the ten-year German Bund rose by 1.3 basis points to 2.1170%, and the two-year by 0.5 basis point to 2.0200%.

OIL

Oil prices fell on Friday, as analysts continued to forecast a supply surplus in 2025 despite OPEC+’s decision to postpone its plan to increase oil production.

Brent fell 1.3% to $71.15 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) fell 1.46% to $67.31.

TO BE CONTINUED ON MONDAY:

The European Central Bank will meet next Thursday to decide on the future of its monetary policy, in a context of sluggish growth and growing deficits.

(Written by Pauline Foret, edited by Augustin Turpin)

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