European markets closed lower on Friday to round out a volatile week, as global investors reacted to a key monthly jobs report out of the United States.
European markets
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally ended down 1.1%, with all major bourses and the majority of sectors trading in the red.
Tech stocks plunged 4.2% to rank as the worst performing sector of the day. Industrial stocks as well as construction and material companies both shed 2.2%.
Oil and gas stocks were the sole outlier Friday, ending the day in the green, up 1.1%.
Friday's payrolls report showed the U.S. economy added 263,000 jobs in September, slightly below a consensus forecast of 275,000 from economists polled by Dow Jones. However, the unemployment rate slid to 3.5% from 3.7% in August, signaling a strengthening jobs market even as the U.S. Federal Reserve hikes interest rates in order to cool the economy and stem inflation.
The reading will increase bets on a more aggressive monetary policy tightening trajectory ahead of the Fed's next meeting in November. U.S. Treasury yields jumped following the data release.
Markets in Asia-Pacific retreated on Friday, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index leading losses, while U.S. stock futures also pulled back in premarket trade. Major U.S. averages closed lower during regular trading on Thursday but are still on course for their best week since June 24.