U.S. jobs report boosts European stocks

By Julien Ponthus and Helen Reid

LONDON (Reuters) - A strong jobs report out of the U.S. boosted European shares on Friday after a sluggish start to trading, while U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum hit steelmakers.

It was strong wage growth last month that fanned speculation of faster rate rises in the United States, causing a rout in the bond market and hammering world equities.

But the jobs report for February showed much slower than expected wage growth, soothing investors who had been concerned about a faster rate of inflation.

The jobs report sent stocks higher across Europe as the slowdown in wage gains pointed to inflation rising only gradually. The pan-European STOXX 600 <.STOXX> was up 0.4 percent by the close.

"The monthly employment report delivered a number of surprises, many of them running contra to historic performances during the late stages of an economic expansion," said BNY Mellon analysts.

Interest-rate sensitive high dividend-paying stocks such as Unilever , Nestle , and British American Tobacco (NYSE: BATS) were among the top boosts to the STOXX 600.

While the basic resources sector <.SXPP> was the best-performing, steelmakers were notable laggards: Voestalpine , Outokumpu and Arcelormittal (NYSE: MT) fell 0.6 to 1.5 percent after the new U.S. tariffs.

Industrials stocks <.SXNP>, which had been the worst-hit by fears of an international trade war, were the biggest boost to the index as the worst-case scenario was averted by Trump accepting exemptions to the steel and aluminum tariff.

Airbus (NYSE: AIR) gained 1.3 percent, while BAE Systems rose 2.2 percent, helped by the finalization of talks between Britain and Saudi Arabia on a multi-billion pound order for 48 Typhoon aircraft made by the defense contractor.

Oil stocks <.SXEP> also rose as crude prices gained on signs of a detente between the U.S. and North Korea

Oil services stocks were the best-performing. TechnipFMC (NYSE: FTI) rose 4.4 percent to the top of the CAC 40, while Wood Group (NYSE: WG) rose 3.8 percent.

A number of corporate updates were badly received by investors, however.

Shares in Lagardere , the French media group behind Paris Match and Europe 1 radio, suffered the biggest decline on the Stoxx, down 7.3 percent after disappointing annual results.

French energy services and electrical engineering company Spie lost 5.5 percent after its margin outlook for 2018 disappointed investors.

Lufthansa shares fell 5.7 percent after the airline reported February passenger data. The stock had its worst day in four weeks after the passenger yield came in lower than expected.

Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> was a laggard, down 0.1 percent after the country's industrial output fell unexpectedly for the second month in a row.

(Reporting by Julien Ponthus; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• South Korea asks North Korea for help with finding missing seaman near border
• Former Qatar ruler Sheikh Hamad, a moderniser who seized power, has died
• India's Tata Consultancy Services plans up to 8,900 AI deployment engineers, seeks AI acquisitions