European Shares Consolidate Gains After US Jobs Data
The STOXX 50 rose above 4,980 points Friday afternoon, touching its highest level since December 2000, and was on track for its seventh straight weekly gain, while the broader STOXX 600 reached a record high of 503 points, after the US jobs report supported the market’s expectation of a Fed rate cut by midyear.
February’s figures showed an unexpected increase in the US jobless rate to a two-year high of 3.9% and a slowdown in monthly wage growth to 0.1%.
Additionally, the economy added 275K jobs, more than expected, but data for previous months were sharply revised down.
On Thursday, Fed Chair Powell hinted that the Fed wasn’t too far from gaining enough confidence in the inflation path to cut interest rates, while the ECB held interest rates at record highs and trimmed its forecasts for inflation, also paving the way for the first rate cut in June.
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