European Indexes Trimmed Weekly Losses, Eurozone Unemployment Held Steady at Record Low

Bridgette Randall
03 May, 2024
Frankfurt

European markets advanced in Friday's trading and trimmed weekly losses after investors debated future rate paths and reacted to the latest corporate quarterly results. 

Benchmark indexes in Frankfurt and Paris edged after European Central Bank policymaker Yannis Stournaras estimated three rate cuts in the remainder of 2024. 

Moreover, benchmark indexes in London advanced after service sector growth accelerated in April, S&P Global reported in its final estimate on Friday. 

 

Eurozone Jobless Rate Held Steady at Record Low

The jobless rate in the eurozone held at a record low of 6.5% in March, matching the rate in the previous three months, Eurostat reported Friday. 

The number of jobless declined by 94,000 to 11.09 million, and the youth unemployment rate, those younger than 25 seeking jobs, decreased to 14.1% from 14.4% in February. 

Among the four largest economies in the currency union, Spain led with the highest jobless rate of 11.7%, followed by France with 7.3%, Italy with 72%, and Germany with 3.2%. 

 

UK Service Growth Accelerated In April 

The UK Service Purchasing Managers' Index increased to 55.0 in April from 53.1 in March, higher than the preliminary estimate of 54.9. 

Investors also overlooked the decline in industrial output in France, mainly because of the decline in food and beverage manufacturing. 

 

France's Industrial Output Edged Lower 

France's industrial output declined 0.3% from the previous month in March, reversing the 0.2% increase in February, the statistical agency INSEE reported Friday. 

France's industrial production declined in six of the last twelve months, indicating an uneven economic recovery amid elevated inflation and weak export demand. 

However, industrial production rose 0.7% from a year ago in March. 

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index increased by 0.5% to 17,988.51; the CAC-40 index rose by 0.6% to 7,965.24; and the FTSE 100 index inched higher by 0.5% to a new intraday record of 8,214.37. 

The yield on 10-year German bonds edged down to 2.53%; French bonds inched lower to 3.03%; the UK gilts edged lower to 4.28%; and Italian bonds inched higher to 3.85%.

The euro edged higher to $1.074; the British pound inched higher to $1.255; and the U.S. dollar edged higher to 90.69 Swiss cents.

Brent crude increased $0.23 to $83.90 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas fell by €0.33 to €30.57 per MWh.

 

Europe Stock Movers

Henkel AG increased 6.6% to €78.78 after the German household products maker lifted its sales and earnings outlook for 2024. 

Daimler Truck Holding decreased 4.9% to €40.49 after the German truck maker reported a decline in global sales in the first quarter. 

Krones AG declined 1.6% to €122.60 despite the German packaging and bottling equipment maker reporting an increase in first-quarter profit and confirming its full-year 2024 outlook. 

Societe Generale declined 3.8% to €24.80 after the French bank reported a smaller-than-expected 22% decline in earnings and reiterated its 2024 outlook. 

Credit Agricole rose 3.3% to €15.10 after the French bank reported a 55% surge in first-quarter earnings, beating market expectations by a wide margin. 

Future plc increased 1.5% to 708.74 pence, and the UK-based publishing company appointed Sharjeel Suleman as the company's chief financial officer. 

Trainline jumped 6.6% to 320.97 pence after an online train and bus ticketing platform operator reported an increase in earnings and announced its plans to expand its stock buyback activities over the next year.