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European stocks finish higher after robust U.S. jobs data; Philips down 7%

Elliot Smith
Sam Meredith

This is CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

LONDON — European stocks finished higher on Friday, despite an earlier dip, as market participants reacted to stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data.

European markets


The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up 0.8%, managing to shake off a brief fall due to the U.S. labor report. Retail stocks led the gains with a rise of 2.2%.

U.S. data showed job growth was stronger than expected in September. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 336,000 for the month, better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 170,000, the Labor Department said in a much-anticipated report. The unemployment rate was 3.8%, marginally higher than forecast.

Investors were fearful that if the tight labor market holds up then the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates higher for longer. Stocks on Wall Street were little changed Friday morning as Treasury yields jumped following the data.

— CNBC's Jeff Cox contributed to this report.

U.S. jobs data stronger than expected

U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 336,000 for the month of September, comfortably beating a Dow Jones consensus estimate near 170,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday.

European stocks and U.S. stock futures turned lower on the news, while U.S. bond yields jumped.

Ahead of the Friday jobs data, investors were fearful that the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates higher for longer, if the tight labor market holds up.

— Sam Meredith

Philips shares fall after U.S. regulator criticizes major product recall

Philips office building in Warsaw, Poland on July 29, 2021. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Shares of Philips fell to the bottom of the European benchmark on Friday, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration criticized the Dutch health tech firm's handling of a major product recall.

"We do not believe that the testing and analysis Philips has shared to date are adequate to fully evaluate the risks posed to users from the recalled devices," the FDA said. The U.S. drug regulator added that it believes additional testing is necessary.

In response, Philips said in a statement that its "first priority is the health and well-being of patients, both in terms of providing replacement devices and testing to seek more clarity on the safety of the sleep and respiratory care devices under the recall."

Here's the full story.

— Sam Meredith

Biggest movers: Aviva up 9%, Philips down 9%

Philips shares tumbled 9% by mid-morning after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it is not satisfied with the status of the Dutch health care technology company's long-running product recall.

At the top of the Stoxx 600, Aviva climbed 9% to lead a broad rally for insurance stocks.

- Elliot Smith

Positive open for Europe

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.3% in early trade, with insurance stocks adding 1.2% to lead gains as most sectors and major bourses nudged into positive territory. Food and beverage stocks bucked the trend to fall 1.6%.

— Elliot Smith

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European stocks are expected to open slightly higher on Friday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is poised to open 17 points higher at 7,468, Germany's DAX up 20 points at 15,089, France's CAC up 9 points at 7,007 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 37 points at 27,514, according to data from IG.

Data releases will include German industrial orders for August, French trade data and Italian retail sales data for the same month.

— Sam Meredith

CNBC Pro: Morgan Stanley says these global stocks will soar on the $150 billion generative AI boom

Generative artificial intelligence — or the usage of generative models powered by AI to generate text, images, or other media — is taking the world by storm and it's not just the U.S. tech giants that are set to benefit, according to Morgan Stanley.

In an Oct. 2 note, the bank's analysts led by Adam Wood highlighted that the technology enables the automation of several categories of work and "is set to expand global software spending by [around] $150 billion in the next three years."

So which global stocks are expected to benefit from this trend?

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

CNBC Pro: 'Tremendous opportunity': Oakmark's Bill Nygren says it's a good time to buy these 3 cheaper stocks

It's a good time to buy cheap stocks in some sectors right now, according to Oakmark Funds' Bill Nygren.

The top value-focused fund manager said what's "really unusual today" is how wide the spread is in price-to-earnings multiples.

He names three stocks to consider.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan