(New York) European stock markets closed higher on Friday, with the exception of London, rather relieved by the employment figures in the United States, but Wall Street mainly retained the acceleration in wages.
In New York, the Dow Jones ended down 0.55%, the NASDAQ lost 0.13% and the broader S&P 500 index dropped 0.29%.
In Europe, London is the exception, the only place in the area to close in the red (-0.32%). Paris gained 0.42% and Frankfurt 0.48%.
During the past month in the United States, 209,000 jobs were created, according to the Department of Labor, while 220,000 were expected by analysts according to the consensus published by Briefing.com.
“These figures show a marked slowdown in the job market, which indicates that the rate hikes are beginning to have their effects,” comments Christophe Boucher, investment director at ABN Amro IS.
Some economists dwelt on the rise in wages, which reached 0.4% over one month, more than the 0.3% expected, a sign that the specter of inflation continues to hang over the American economy.
“Average hourly wages have increased slightly, but if we take into account the relatively low number of hours worked per week, overall wage pressures remain moderate,” said Christophe Boucher.
In the wake of the next monetary policy meeting of the US central bank on July 25 and 26, investors are tracking the slightest clue that could influence the Fed’s decision whether or not to raise its main key rate.
While the markets are expecting a rate hike in July, they are also wondering about further hikes by the end of the year.
Shell expects ‘significantly lower’ gas revenues in Q2
The hydrocarbon giant Shell announced on Friday that its gas sales should show a “significant drop” in its second quarter results, compared to a “good” first quarter in particular and despite stable production.
The action reacted little, but was however in the green in London (+0.79% in London). Russ Mould, analyst at AJ Bell, notes that we should expect results “less impressive than in recent quarters”. In the first quarter, Shell had recorded a net profit up 22% year on year to 8.7 billion dollars.
In London, BP gained 0.70%. In Paris, TotalEnergies took 1.03%.
Levi Strauss in the background
Levi Strauss dropped (-7.73%) after lowering its annual forecast, in particular due to difficulties in sales activity to retailers in the United States. The iconic brand of American jeans saw sales drop 22% in the second quarter in its home country.
Alibaba and the billion fine
Alibaba advanced (+8.00%) after Chinese authorities imposed a fine of around $1 billion on its mobile payments subsidiary Ant Group. This decision marks the end of a government investigation that will have lasted several months and removes the uncertainty that weighed on the company.
Nucera on the rise for its first session
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange gave way on Friday to Thyssenkrupp’s hydrogen entity, Nucera, which closed at 24.34 euros, up 18.85% compared to its entry quotation at 20 euros per share.
On the side of oil and the euro
Oil prices climbed to their highest level in two months on Friday as the slight easing in the US job market shed fears that the US central bank could overdo it on rate hikes to the point of stalling the economy. ‘economy.
A barrel of Brent North Sea oil for September delivery climbed 2.54% to $78.47. Its US equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for August delivery, gained 2.86% to 73.86 dollars.
On the foreign exchange market, the euro gained 0.70% against the dollar, to 1.0966 dollars.
Bitcoin was near flat (-0.05%) at $30,257.