European Markets Finished Mostly Lower After U.S. Jobs Report

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Friday's session with mixed results, but there was more red than green among the final results. The highly anticipated U.S. employment report for January showed weaker than expected job growth and German factory orders also disappointed. Investors were also confronted by a large number of corporate earnings results.

Employment in the U.S. rose by less than expected in the month of January, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday, although the unemployment rate still edged lower. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 151,000 jobs in January compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 188,000 jobs.

Even though the job growth came in below estimate, the unemployment rate still edged down to 4.9 percent in January from 5.0 percent in December. Economists had expected the rate to come in unchanged.

The European Central Bank is ready to add more stimulus in March if needed, but only after a thorough study of available data in order to avoid reacting hastily to temporary developments, Governing Council member Bostjan Jazbec said Friday.

In an interview to the Wall Street Journal, Jazbec, who is the Governor of the Bank of Slovenia, said ECB policymakers required a "more comprehensive view on data".

Policymakers should not jump immediately on events which might or might not prove to be long lasting, the rate-setter added.

There is no urgency to raise U.K. interest rates at present and the falling oil prices have benefited the economy, which is enjoying a robust recovery, Bank of England Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent said Friday.

There was "certainly no great urgency to raise rates at the moment", Broadbent said in an interview on the BBC Radio 5.

"We will respond to events as and when they happen," the policymaker added. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 0.89 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.79 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped 1.14 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.66 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. declined 0.86 percent, but the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.54 percent.

In Frankfurt, Daimler advanced percent, a day after it reported record sales of Mercedes-Benz cars and forecast slowing growth in 2016.

Fresenius Medical Care dropped 3.91 percent and Fresenius surrendered 3.40 percent.

Commerzbank increased 2.18 percent and Deutsche Bank added 0.79 percent.

E.ON gained 1.70 percent and peer RWE rose 1.02 percent.

In Paris, BNP Paribas climbed 1.49 percent. The lender has unveiled plans to cut investment banking costs by 12 percent by 2019 after reporting sharply lower net profit for the fourth quarter.

Credit Agricole rose 0.39 percent and Societe Generale finished up by 0.41 percent.

Technip increased 1.24 percent.

In London, BG Group gained 0.24 percent. The oil & gas firm, which is being taken over by Royal Dutch Shell, reported a 22 percent fall in underlying earnings for the fourth quarter on the back of lower revenues. Royal Dutch Shell shares rose nearly 2 percent.

Shaftesbury dipped 0.18 percent. The property investment company said it has enjoyed robust footfall numbers and spending during the period 1 October 2015 to 4 February 2016.

ArcelorMittal dropped 5.53 percent in Amsterdam. The world's largest steelmaker has unveiled plans to raise $3 billion in fresh capital after reporting e net loss of almost $8.0 billion (7.1 billion euros) for 2015.

Volvo increased 7.52 percent in Stockholm. The Swedish automaker cut its forecast for the North American market by 7 percent this year after posting a smaller-than-expected rise in four-quarter profit.

Germany's factory orders declined more-than-expected at the end of last year, on weak domestic orders , while foreign demand logged only marginal growth. Orders fell 0.7 percent in December from November, when they advanced 1.5 percent, provisional data from Destatis showed Friday. That was the first decrease in three months. The pace of decline was faster than a 0.5 percent drop economists had forecast.

France's foreign trade deficit decreased more-than-expected at the end of the year, as imports fell faster than exports, figures from the French Customs showed Friday. The trade deficit narrowed to EUR 3.9 billion in December from EUR 4.5 billion in the previous month. Economists had forecast the deficit to drop to $4.4 billion.

With imports rising and exports falling, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing that the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in December. The report said the trade deficit widened to $43.4 billion in December from a revised $42.2 billion in November. The deficit had been expected to widen to $43.0 billion.