European Stock Markets Rise at Week’s End, Trading Cautiously

On European stock exchanges, share prices rose on Friday morning, recovering some of yesterday’s losses, while trading remained cautious ahead of the release of employment reports in the U.S., which typically have a significant impact on the markets.

The STOXX 600 index of leading European stocks was up 0.3 percent around 9:45 AM.

Meanwhile, the London FTSE index gained 0.35 percent, reaching 7,528 points, and the Frankfurt DAX was up 0.30 percent, at 12,733 points. The Paris CAC, on the other hand, weakened by 0.25 percent, to 5,486 points.

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European stock exchanges are trading cautiously this morning as they await employment data from the U.S.

Analysts in a Reuters poll estimate that the number of employed in April increased by 192,000, following an increase of 103,000 the month before. If the data exceeds expectations, it could raise concerns about an acceleration in the pace of interest rate hikes by the Fed.

Midweek, the U.S. central bank indicated that the economy continues to grow and that inflation has approached the target level of 2 percent, suggesting that further gradual interest rate increases can be expected.

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Investors fear that an increase in interest rates could lead to a slowdown in the growth of the world’s largest economy. Data for the first quarter has already shown that economic growth has slowed compared to the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, Asian stock prices fell this morning, with the MSCI Asia-Pacific index down 0.5 percent around 9:45 AM, marking potential losses for the third consecutive week. The Tokyo Stock Exchange was closed today due to a holiday.