European Stocks Close Broadly Higher

By Investors Hub

European stocks were broadly higher on Friday after the release of U.S. tax reform bill as well as the announcement of Jerome Powell as the next Federal Reserve Chair.

Underlying sentiment, however, remained cautious ahead of the all-important U.S. jobs report due tonight, with U.S. employment expected to jump by 312,000 jobs in October after unexpectedly dipping by 33,000 jobs in September. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.2 percent.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.2 percent at 395.58 in late opening deals after declining half a percent in the previous session.

The German DAX was moving up 0.4 percent while France’s CAC 40 index was marginally higher in cautious trade.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3 percent to extend gains from the previous session as the pound continued to respond negatively to the BoE’s rate hike announcement and relatively dovish comments from Governor Mark Carney.

Schibsted jumped more than 10 percent after the Norwegian media group posted third-quarter earnings that topped forecasts.

Dialog Semiconductor rallied 3.5 percent and AMS rose over 2 percent after Apple forecast revenue for the holiday season above market expectations.

Renault shares jumped 5 percent after the French government announced it was selling a 4.73 percent stake in the carmaker.

Deutsche Telekom gained 1 percent after reports that T-Mobile and Sprint are working to salvage their $74 billion merger.

Gold miners Rangold Resources and Fresnillo rose about 2 percent each as gold firmed up on the announcement of the widely expected Republican tax plan.

On the flip side, telecoms firm Altice fell over 10 percent after disappointing third-quarter results.

Societe Generale shares tumbled 3.2 percent. The French lender reported lower profit in its third quarter and said it would not proceed with its Global Employee Share Ownership Plan, citing uncertainty over U.S. disputes and legal reasons.

On a light day on the economic front, the U.K. service sector expanded at the strongest pace in six months in October, survey data from IHS Markit showed.

The IHS Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers’ Index rose unexpectedly to 55.6 from 53.6 in September, helped by improved order books and resilient client demand.