European stocks rose on Friday as investors digested strong results from the technology sector and awaited key US jobs data.
New York rebounded on Thursday as shares of US tech titans rose, reversing a sell-off triggered by the Fed, extinguishing hopes of an imminent reduction in borrowing costs.
Meta and Amazon beat expectations in their latest quarterly results as Big Tech continued to impress.
Meta, the tech titan behind Facebook and Instagram, reported a profit of $14 billion in the final three months of last year, beating analysts’ forecasts as its revenue soared to $40.1 billion. dollars during the quarter.
Amazon also impressed investors with sales reaching a more-than-expected $170 billion in the final quarter of last year, following a record holiday season.
iPhone maker Apple, meanwhile, announced that its sales rose slightly in the last three months of 2023, but concerns over China overshadowed the news.
– Optimistic weekend –
“European markets are in for an optimistic end to the week, with earnings from Amazon and Facebook helping to fuel a period of risk appetite,” said Joshua Mahony, analyst at Scope Markets.
“Today, the US jobs report represents the final hurdle for traders to overcome, although the possibility of a significant change in market expectations from the Fed is questionable following Wednesday’s meeting.”
The NFP report will come under scrutiny after Fed boss Jerome Powell suggested that policymakers could be swayed by a particularly large miss in key indicators.
Disappointment over the Fed’s warning was tempered by the knowledge that rates are almost certain to fall this year.
Data showing a slowdown in the U.S. labor market — jobless claims rose and private-sector job creation was lower than expected — has reinforced optimism that the central bank will act several times before 2025.
While most market watchers have scaled back their bets on a reduction next month, Bloomberg News said that about 150 basis points of easing this year is still priced into markets, with the first move entirely integrated for May.
In contrast, in Asia, Shanghai and Hong Kong fell as traders remained worried about the state of the Chinese economy and the lack of strong stimulus measures.
The real estate sector is of particular concern, especially after the liquidation by a Hong Kong court this week of struggling developer Evergrande, which is drowning in debt of more than $300 billion.
Analysts also pointed out that traders were selling ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
– Key figures around 11:30 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent to 7,638.13 points
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.4% to 7,621.82
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.7% to 16,969.12
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6% to 4,665.80
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: up 0.4 percent to 36,158.02 (closing)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent to 15,533.56 (closing)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.5 percent to 2,730.15 (closing)
New York – Dow Jones: UP 1.0 percent to 38,519.84 (closing)
Euro/dollar: RISING to $1.0885 against $1.0874 on Thursday
Dollar/yen: UP to 146.58 yen from 146.42 yen
Pound/dollar: UP to $1.2765 from $1.2746
Euro/pound: DOWN to 85.28 pence from 85.29 pence
West Texas Intermediate: up 0.6% to $74.24 per barrel
North Sea Brent: up 0.5% to $79.11 per barrel
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