European stocks closed higher Friday after a strong U.S. jobs report and an unexpected bounce in Chinese manufacturing activity.
European markets
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up around 0.6% provisionally, with almost all sectors and major bourses in positive territory. The benchmark nudged just 0.16% lower for the week.
Factory activity in the world's second-largest economy expanded at its fastest pace since February 2017, official data published on Friday showed, as both export orders and production increased. The expansion defied market expectations and stood in contrast to official manufacturing data released on Thursday.
Europe's autos and mining stocks — with their heavy exposure to China — led the gains Friday, with the latter finishing 2.9% higher.
Stateside, the Labor Department's nonfarm payrolls data came in at 128,000 on Friday, comfortably beating the estimate of 75,000 from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
Looking at individual stocks, Sweden's Loomis surged toward the top of the European benchmark. The cash handling company reported an increase in third-quarter revenue on Friday morning, with shares up more than 6%.
Meanwhile, Denmark's largest lender reported slightly weaker-than-anticipated third-quarter earnings and announced it had narrowed down its annual profit goals. Shares of Danske Bank slumped nearly 4% on the news. The lender is currently trying to restore its reputation after being involved in one of the world's biggest money-laundering scandals.