BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European markets closed on a bright note on Friday as some corporate updates, and optimism about more interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve helped underpin sentiment.
U.S. Labor Department's data showing employment increased by less than expected in December has led to some optimism about the outlook for interest rates.
Data from Statistics Canada showed the Canadian economy added 8,200 jobs in December 2025, following three consecutive monthly increases totaling 181,000 from September to November.
The unemployment rate in Canada rose to 6.8% in December 2025 from 6.5% in the previous month and above market expectations of 6.6%.
Data released by the Labor Department today showed non-farm payroll employment in the U.S. rose by 50,000 jobs in December after climbing by a downwardly revised 56,000 jobs in November. Economists had expected employment to rise by 60,000 jobs compared to the addition of 64,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate edged down to 4.4% in December from a revised 4.5% in November. The unemployment rate was expected to slip to 4.5% from the 4.6% originally reported for the previous month.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.97%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.8%, Germany's DAX ended 0.53% up, and France's CAC 40 closed stronger by 1.44%. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.53%.
Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.
Austria, Czech Republic and Spain ended flat.
In the UK market, miners and energy stocks had a good outing.
Glencore soared 9.6%. Glencore and Rio Tinto have confirmed they are in preliminary discussions on a possible combination of some or all of their businesses, which could include an all-share merger between them. Rio Tinto ended down by 3%.
Antofagasta climbed 4.1%, Anglo American Plc gained 2.7% and Frsenillo moved up nearly 2%. Endeavour Mining ended lower by about 5%.
Energy stocks Shell and BP ended higher by 3.1% and 2.4%, respectively.
Auto Trader Group, Spirax Group, Diploma, Marks & Spencer, Centrica, Schroders, Experian, SSE, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Ashtead gained 2 to 4%.
Sainsbury (J) ended more than 5% down. The U.K.'s second-largest supermarket chain reported a fall in sales at its Argos chain over the all-important Christmas quarter.
Vodafone Group, IAG, Tesco, Aviva, Kingfisher and Haleon also closed notably lower.
In the German market, Infineon, SAP, Rheinmetall, Beiersdorf, Henkel and Volkswagen gained 2 to 3%.
Siemens Energy, Scout24 and BASF climbed 1.7 to 2%. Fresenius Medical Care climbed after announcing the continuation of its €1 billion share buyback program, with a second tranche of €415 million running from January 12 to May 8.
Siemens and Brenntag also posted strong gains.
MTU Aero Engines, Bayer, Allianz and Commerzbank lost 2 to 2.1%. Munich RE, Fresenius and Hannover Rueck also closed notably lower.
In the French market, L'Oreal climbed more than 6%, BNP Paribas surged 5.6% and Hermes International gained 4.1%.
TotalEnergies, Kering, LVMH, STMicroElectronics, Saint Gobain, Publicis Groupe, Capgemini, Dassault Systemes, Air Liquide, Sanofi, Legrand and EssilorLuxottica also posted impressive gains.
Orange, Vinci, Bouygues, Societe Generale, Edenred, AXA, Safran, Accor and Veolia Environment lost 1 to 3%.
On the economic front, Germany's industrial production grew unexpectedly in November, while exports registered its biggest fall since May 2024, official data revealed on Friday.
Industrial output climbed 0.8% month-on-month in November, Destatis reported. Although it was weaker than the 2% increase in October, the increase confounded economists' forecast of 0.6% fall.
The positive development was mainly attributable to the growth in the automotive industry and in the manufacture of machinery and equipment, data showed.
On a yearly basis, industrial production logged a growth of 0.8% after rising 1% in October.
Another report from Destatis showed that exports declined the most since May 2024, while imports rebounded more-than-expected from October.
Exports decreased 2.5% in November, reversing prior month's 0.3% increase. Shipments were forecast to remain flat. Meanwhile, imports grew 0.8%, in contrast to the 1.5% fall in October. Economists were expecting a 0.2% gain.
Consequently, the trade balance showed a surplus of EUR 13.1 billion compared to EUR 17.2 billion surplus in October.
Data from federal statistical office INSEE showed industrial production in France fell 0.1% month-on-month in November 2025, following a 0.2% gain in October. Over the last three months, industrial production rose 1.8%, while year-on-year output increased 0.3%.
A separate data from INSEE showed household consumption in France unexpectedly fell 0.3% month-on-month in November 2025, defying market expectations of a 0.2% rise and reversing an upwardly revised 0.5% growth in October.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
