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Who is the breadwinner in your family and does it matter?

European stocks lower and US in the green following upbeat jobs report

Lucy Harley-McKeown
Updated
People wait in line for a chance to speak with prospective employers during a City of Los Angeles career fair offering to fill vacancies in more than 30 classifications of jobs on November 2, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. The US Bureau of Labour Statistics will release on November 3 the October jobs report amid expectations employment remains quite healthy. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
US jobs numbers beat economists expectations for March, while the unemployment rate ticked back down to 3.8%. (FREDERIC J. BROWN via Getty Images)

The FTSE 100 and European stocks headed lower on Friday, while US stocks were in the green, as fresh data showed the economy added 303,000 jobs last month — a higher rate than expected.

  • The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was down 0.9% by the opening bell int he US, while Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) was 1.3% lower and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris lost 1.4%.

  • The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) also fell about 1.1%.

  • US stocks, meanwhile, were in the green, with the S&P 500 (^GSPC) up 0.8%, the Dow (^DJI) rising 0.6% and the Nasdaq (^IXIC) floating up 1.1%. The good mood was a stark contrast to Thursday's day of selling.

  • US jobs numbers beat economists expectations for March, while the unemployment rate ticked back down to 3.8%. Wage growth also met expectations.

  • Oil futures spiked more than 1% on Thursday amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) settled at $86.59 per barrel while Brent (BZ=F), the international benchmark price, closed at $90.65 per barrel, their highest level since October. Prices were still around that point on Friday.

  • The jump in oil, combined with commentary about potentially not cutting interest rates this year from Minnesota Fed president Neel Kashkari, appeared to spook investors.

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LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER13 updates
  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Thanks for reading!

    Head over to our US site for more market moving news.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    US stocks at the open

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    US jobs data just dropped

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Economists predict June ECB interest rate cut

    La presidente della Banca centrale europea (Bce) Christine Lagarde parla durante una conferenza stampa dopo la riunione di politica monetaria del Consiglio direttivo presso la sede della Bce a Francoforte, Germania, 7 marzo 2024. Foto REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
    La presidente della Banca centrale europea (Bce) Christine Lagarde parla durante una conferenza stampa dopo la riunione di politica monetaria del Consiglio direttivo presso la sede della Bce a Francoforte, Germania, 7 marzo 2024. Foto REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (Reuters / Reuters)

    Bloomberg has the latest detail on what experts are predicting for the ECB's next moves on rates.

    The deposit rate, which is currently at 4%, is now expected to hit 2.25% at end of 2025, with cuts starting in June this year, according to a survey of economists.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Here's what the US is doing in premarket, after a day of selling

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    UK construction PMI: Prices ease as output edges up

    Here are the top lines from the latest S&P Global release:

    • Fractional rise in overall construction output in March. The rise snaps a six-month downturn.

    • Strongest increase in new orders since May 2023.

    • Input price inflation eases to a three-month low.

    "The near-term outlook for construction workloads appears increasingly favourable as order books improved again in March and to the greatest extent for just under one year," said Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. "Construction companies generally commented on a broadbased rebound in tender opportunities, helped by easing borrowing costs and signs that UK economic conditions have started to recover in the first quarter of 2024."

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    UK national insurance cuts kick in

    Our reporter LaToya Harding has the latest: National insurance cuts to take effect with 'average saving' of £900 a year

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Oil price surges amid increased Middle Eastern tensions

    Oil futures spiked more than 1% on Thursday amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) settled at $86.59 per barrel while Brent (BZ=F), the international benchmark price, closed at $90.65 per barrel, their highest level since October. Prices were still around that point on Friday.

    The jump in oil, combined with commentary about potentially not cutting interest rates this year from Minnesota Fed president Neel Kashkari, appeared to spook investors on Thursday. The chart below shows a clear alignment between oil's rise on the day and tech stocks fall.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    UK high street sales fell in March

    A monthly monitor of high street sales has shown total like-for-like sales fell by 2.2% in the five weeks to 31 March. The same month last year had seen a 4.1% increase, according to the BDO high street tracker.

    Store sales fell by 1.8%, compared with an increase of 6.6% for the same month in 2023, while non-store sales fell by 2.3% from an increase of 2.8% for the same month last year.

    This is the longest period of negative successive monthly results outside of the COVID-19 lockdown period when bricks and mortar stores were closed — the High Street Sales Tracker recorded eight successive months of negative total sales between February and September 2020, BDO said.

    Homeware saw the biggest dip in interest, falling 10.9% compared with a 5.4% increase in March 2023.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    🏠 UK house prices pull back in March

    House prices in Britain fell around 1% in March month-on-month, following months of gains, but were still up 0.3% year-on-year and 2% on the quarter. The average property now costs £288,430.

    "While higher mortgage rates certainly remain an obstacle, there has been a dramatic increase in buyer activity levels and it’s not just in the form of enquiries and viewings, with more offers also being made," said Foxtons' CEO Guy Gittins.

    "With the general expectation that interest rates are set to fall sooner rather than later, we anticipate that market conditions will only continue to improve as buyer confidence builds.”

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Overnight in Asia

    The Nikkei (^N225) in Japan led losses in Asia on Friday, as US jitters about delayed rate cuts spread overseas. The index lost 2%, pulling back from the symbolic 40,000 points mark in recent trade due to the macroeconomic concerns.

    Meanwhile, data showed Japanese household spending in February fell much less-than-expected, down 0.5% year-on-year in real terms, compared with Reuters’ expectations of a 3% fall.

    In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng (^HSI) closed almost flat. The SSE Composite (000001.SS) fell 0.2%.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Overnight in the US

    Here's what our US team wrote about trade on Thursday:

    Stocks slumped on Thursday as oil hit its highest price in six months and a key Federal Reserve official floated a warning that interest rate cuts might not come in 2024.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell almost 1.4%, or 550 points while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped 1.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slipped 1.4%. This marked the S&P 500's worst single-day drop since Feb. 13.

    All three major averages reversed strong midday gains after Minnesota Fed President Neel Kashkari suggested the Fed may not cut interest rates at all this year if inflation progress stalls. The positive market action also paused amid a spike in oil prices.

  • Lucy Harley-McKeown

    Good morning!

    Hello from London. Lucy Harley-McKeown ready to bring you the news on what's moving markets. We've already had the Asian day of trade and Halifax's house price index this morning. Let's get to it.

Watch: Wall Street ends sharply lower ahead of jobs report

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