BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European markets ended Friday's session in the green, bringing its recent winning streak to 3 days. The continued global rally helped the markets to extend their gains after the Dow reached a new record high yesterday and Asian markets turned in a strong performance overnight. The markets held most of their gains following the release of the weaker than expected U.S. jobs report.
Shares of automakers extended their gains from the previous session, after Thursday's better than expected U.S. auto sales. A pair of broker upgrades in the sector also helped to fuel their continued gains.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.83 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 1.07 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.79 percent.
The DAX of Germany climbed 1.15 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 1.05 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.37 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.50 percent.
In Frankfurt, Volkswagen advanced 2.01 percent after the automaker said it would work with Silicon Valley firm Aurora to create self-driving cars. Deutsche Bank also upgraded its rating on the stock to 'Buy' from 'Hold.'
BMW climbed 1.06 percent and Daimler rose 1.04 percent.
In Paris, Peugeot increased 4.35 percent and Renault added 2.32 percent.
In London, Centrica rallied 3.07 percent after Credit Suisse gave a 'buy' rating on the stock.
easyJet gained 0.03 percent after reporting 5.5 percent growth in passenger traffic for December.
Geotechnical contractor Keller Group jumped 8.65 percent. The company said that it is in discussions to acquire Moretrench Inc., a geotechnical contracting company operating predominantly along the east coast of the U.S.
Fiat Chrysler advanced 6.35 percent in Milan, after JPMorgan upgraded its rating on the stock to 'Overweight' from 'Neutral.'
Eurozone inflation eased slightly as expected at the end of 2017 on slower growth in energy prices, suggesting that an interest rate hike from the European Central Bank is likely to be a long way off. Inflation eased marginally to 1.4 percent in December from 1.5 percent in November, flash data from Eurostat showed Friday. The rate came in line with expectations.
Eurozone producer price inflation accelerated unexpectedly in November, data from Eurostat showed Friday. Producer prices climbed 2.8 percent year-over-year in November, faster than the 2.5 percent rise in October. Economists had expected the inflation to remain stable at 2.5 percent.
Germany's retail sales rebounded in November, figures from Destatis revealed Friday. Retail sales climbed 4.4 percent year-on-year in November, reversing a revised 0.9 percent drop in October. Sales were forecast to grow 2.3 percent.
Germany's construction activity expanded at the fastest pace in four months in December, buoyed by strong growth in commercial building work, survey data from IHS Markit showed Friday. The headline Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to 53.7 in December from 53.1 in November.
France's consumer prices grew at a steady pace in December, flash data from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. Consumer prices climbed 1.2 percent year-on-year in December, the same pace of increase as seen in November.
French consumer confidence strengthened in December to the highest level in six months, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. The consumer sentiment index climbed to 105 in December from 103 in November, which was revised up from 102. Economists had expected the index to rise to 103.
UK labor productivity increased at the fastest pace in more than six years in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. Output per hour grew 0.9 percent sequentially in the third quarter, the largest increase since the second quarter of 2011.
Shop prices in the United Kingdom were down 0.6 percent on year in December, the British Retail Consortium said on Friday. That missed expectations for a flat reading following the 0.1 percent contraction in November.
After reporting a bigger than expected jump in employment in the previous month, the Labor Department released a report on Friday showing employment in the U.S. increased by much less than anticipated in the month of December.
The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 148,000 jobs in December after spiking by an upwardly revised 252,000 jobs in November. Economists had expected employment to increase by 190,000 jobs compared to the addition of 228,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate came in at 4.1 percent in December, unchanged from the two previous months and in line with economists' estimates.
A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in November, as the value of imports increased by more than the value of exports. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit widened to $50.5 billion in November from a revised $48.9 billion in October.
The deficit had been expected to widen to $49.5 billion from the $48.7 billion originally reported for the previous month.
For the second consecutive month, the Institute for Supply Management has released a report showing a slowdown in the pace of growth in activity in the U.S. service sector. The ISM said Friday that its non-manufacturing index dropped to 55.9 in December after falling to 57.4 in November.
While a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the service sector, economists had expected the index to inch back up to 57.6.
New orders for U.S. manufactured goods jumped by more than expected in the month of November, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday. The Commerce Department said factory orders surged up by 1.3 percent in November after rising by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in October.
Economists had expected factory orders to climb by 1.1 percent compared to the 0.1 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.
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