European Markets Close Weak On Growth Worries

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Friday, weighed down by some disappointing regional economic data, and a report showing a much smaller than expected increase in U.S. jobs growth in the month of August.

Data showing a contraction in China's services sector in August hurt.

Concerns about the possible impact of the continued surge in the Delta variant of coronavirus on global economic recovery contributed as well to the weakness in the markets.

The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 0.56%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.36% down, Germany's DAX slid 0.37% and France's CAC 40 tumbled 1.08%. Switzerland's SMI lost 0.65%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkey closed weak.

Austria and Finland edged down marginally, while Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland and Russia ended higher.

In the UK market, Ocado Group shares ended more than 4% down. IAG, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Bunzl, IHG, Intermediate Capital Group, Weir Group, Ashtead Group, Informa, M&G, Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Pearson Plc lost 1 to 2.5%.

Ashmore Group slumped more than 4% after the investment manager reported a 12% dip in annual net revenue.

Fresnillo climbed 3.5%. Melrose Industries, Flutter Entertainment, Reckitt Benckiser, Polymetal International, B&M and Glencore gained 1 to 2.3%.

Discoverie Group shares soared more than 11%. The electronic components manufacturer and supplier said that it has raised 55 million pounds ($76.1 million) via share placing.

In France, WorldLine shed more than 3%. Unibail Rodamco ended nearly 3% down. Accor, Safran, Valeo, Vinci, Perond Ricard, Airbus Group, Publicis Groupe, Air France-KLM, LVMH, Credit Agricole, Renault, BNP Paribas, ArcelorMittal, Societe Generale and Technip lost 1 to 2.3%.

In the German market, Thyssenkrupp, HeidelbergCement, Adidas, Puma, Munich RE, Fresenius and Vonovia shed 1 to 1.7%. Covestro shares edged up slightly after reports that the German chemicals maker plans to cut up to 1,700 of its 16,500 jobs worldwide.

Eurozone private sector logged another robust growth in August but the momentum faded slightly from July's 15-year peak, final data from IHS Markit showed earlier today.

The final composite output index fell to 59.0 in August from 60.2 in July, which was the highest since June 2006. The reading stood below the flash 59.5.

Elsewhere, the composite PMI reading for U.K. fell to 54.8 in August from 59.2 in July.

Eurozone retail sales fell 2.3 percent over the previous month in July, the EU's statistics agency Eurostat said - coming in below forecasts for a 0.2 percent rise.

The U.S. Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report showed non-farm payroll employment rose by 235,000 jobs in August after soaring by an upwardly revised 1.053 million jobs in July. Economists had expected employment to jump by about 750,000 jobs compared to the spike of 943,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Despite the much weaker than expected job growth, the unemployment rate fell to 5.2% in August from 5.4% in July, matching economist estimates.