European Markets Pared Losses After Disappointing U.S. Jobs Report

(RTTNews) - The European markets were in negative territory of much of Friday's session. They slipped to their lowest level of the session immediately following the release of the weaker than expected U.S. employment report for April.

However, the markets then rallied and entered positive territory. The markets ended the session with mixed results. The disappointing U.S. jobs growth appears to have cemented the opinion among investors that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rate unchanged in June.

Employment in the U.S. climbed by much less than expected in the month of April, the Labor Department revealed in a closely watched report on Friday. The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 160,000 jobs in April compared to economist estimates for a jump of about 200,000 jobs.

The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate held at 5.0 percent in April, unchanged from the previous month. The rate had been expected to edge down to 4.9 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 0.12 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.36 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 0.18 percent, but the CAC 40 of France fell 0.42 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.14 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.22 percent.

In Frankfurt, Rhoen-Klinikum dipped 0.03 percent, erasing early gains. The hospital operator expects a drop in revenues of roughly 1 percent for the current financial year due to regulatory restrictions.

Commerzbank increased 1.21 percent and Deutsche Bank added 0.68 percent.

In Paris, Total rose 0.93 percent and Technip advanced 0.47 percent.

In London, easyJet decreased 1.67 percent as the low-cost carrier reported a 0.4 percent decline in load factor - the ratio of passenger-kilometers travelled to seat-kilometers available - for April over last year.

InterContinental Hotels Group fell 0.52 percent on reporting a 1.5 percent rise in first-quarter global room revenue at constant exchange rates.

Man Group sank 8.64 percent after Citigroup cut its rating on the stock.

Randgold Resources surged 6.57 percent and Fresnillo jumped 6.16 percent. Gold prices surged after the release of the weaker than expected U.S. jobs report.

ArcelorMittal declined 1.17 percent in Amsterdam. The world's largest steelmaker narrowed its net loss in the first quarter, but cautioned about excess steel capacity in China.

Monte dei Paschi climbed 2.37 percent in Milan, after delivering better than expected Q1 results due to lower provisions for bad loans.

Germany's construction activity grew at the slowest pace in five months during April despite further gains in new business and employment amid stronger confidence among firms, survey data from Markit Economics showed Friday.

The seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, fell further from February's recent high to 53.4 in April. In March, the reading was 55.8.

Spanish industrial production rose for the first time in four months in March at the fastest pace in nearly two years, preliminary data from the statistical office INE showed Friday. Industrial production grew a seasonally-and-calendar adjusted 1.2 percent from the previous month, marking the strongest increase since April 2014, when output rose 1.7 percent.

U.K. new car registrations grew modestly in April, but marked the highest figure for the month since 2003, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed Friday. New car registrations rose 2 percent year-on-year to 189,505 cars, the most in April since 2003, when 194,312 new vehicles were sold.