European Markets Pared Their Gains After Strong U.S. Jobs Report

(RTTNews) - The majority of the European markets ended Friday's session in the green, but finished off their highs. The markets pared their early gains following the release of the stronger than expected U.S. jobs report for February. The data has further cemented the belief among investors that the Federal Reserve will likely hike interest rates at their meeting next week.

The U.S. Labor Department released a report on Friday showing stronger than expected job growth in the month of February. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 235,000 jobs in February after surging up by a revised 238,000 jobs in January.

Economists had expected employment to climb by about 195,000 jobs compared to the addition of 227,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Economic data from the Eurozone proved mixed at the end of the trading week. German trade data beat expectations, while industrial output data from France and the U.K. disappointed. Rising bond yields helped lift banking stocks again Friday, while energy stocks climbed after crude oil prices rebounded from three-month lows hit overnight.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.07 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.19 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.14 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped 0.13 percent, but the CAC 40 of France rose 0.24 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.38 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.35 percent.

In Frankfurt, Volkswagen advanced 0.24 percent after the automaker entered into a long-term partnership agreement with Tata Motors.

Wirecard climbed 4.24 percent. The company said that it has successfully completed the acquisition of the business of Citi Prepaid Card Services.

Fraport gained 0.92 percent. The owner and operator of Germany's Frankfurt Airport reported that FRA welcomed more than four million passengers in the month of February, 1 percent higher than last year.

In London, William Hill rose 1.08 percent. The bookmaker has appointed Philip Bowcock as CEO with immediate effect, ending a nine-month-long search for a permanent CEO.

BT Group jumped 3.71 percent after agreeing to legally split its infrastructure unit.

Real estate investment trust Segro fell 3.96 percent after buying the remaining 50 percent interest in the Airport Property Partnership joint venture it does not already own from the Aviva Group Entities.

Repsol increased 2.49 percent in Madrid after the company announced that it has made the largest U.S. onshore conventional hydrocarbons discovery in 30 years in Alaska.

Germany's exports recovered and import growth accelerated in January, figures from Destatis showed Friday.

Exports advanced by more-than-expected 2.7 percent month-on-month in January, in contrast to a 2.8 percent fall in December. At the same time, imports grew at a faster pace of 3 percent after edging up 0.1 percent.

Exports were forecast to grow 2 percent and imports to rise 0.5 percent in January.

As a result, the trade surplus increased to a seasonally adjusted EUR 18.5 billion from EUR 18.3 billion in December.

Germany's wholesale prices increased the most in more than five years in February, data from Destatis showed Friday. Wholesale prices advanced 5 percent in February from prior year, following a 4 percent increase in January.

France's industrial production declined unexpectedly in January, data from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. Industrial production slid 0.3 percent, confounding expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent. Production had fallen 1.1 percent in December.

UK industrial production decreased for the first time in three months in January, the Office for National Statistics showed Friday. Industrial output slid 0.4 percent in January from December, when it grew 0.9 percent. Output was forecast to fall 0.5 percent. This was the first decrease since October.

Another report from the ONS showed that the construction output fell by 0.4 percent compared with December, when it climbed 1.8 percent. However, output grew on a three month-on-three month basis by 1.8 percent.

The UK visible trade deficit remained broadly unchanged in January, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday. The deficit on trade in goods, came in at GBP 10.83 billion versus GBP 10.91 billion shortfall in December. The deficit was expected to widen to GBP 11.1 billion.