The Japan Times - European stocks rise tracking earnings, US jobs

Asian markets were subdued after a weak close Wednesday on Wall Street, as investors pared back bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and the share prices of tech firms again underperformed.

"The strength seen in Europe... comes from improved earnings data from some of the big hitters," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

Shares in German industrial giant Siemens jumped seven percent as it raised its outlook for the year after a strong first quarter boosted by spending on artificial intelligence.

In Paris, RayBan maker EssilorLuxottica shares rose around four percent as its fourth-quarter earnings beat market expectations.

London edged up to a fresh record high, even as data showed the UK economy grew less than expected in the final three months of 2025.

British asset manager Schroders was the biggest riser in the FTSE 100 index after agreeing a takeover by the US firm Nuveen, sending its shares up 28 percent to reflect the premium paid for the company.

Investors were also reacting to a bumper US jobs report on Wednesday that eased concerns about the state of the world's top economy, even though it reduced expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts to spur growth.

Around 130,000 US jobs were created last month, more than double what was forecast, while unemployment unexpectedly dipped.

The reading soothed concerns about the economy that had been stoked by a report earlier this week showing weak US consumer activity.

"This was a solid report across headline job creation, unemployment, and wage growth, easing concerns over the health of the US labour market," wrote Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index.

However, "The markets have pushed back on expectations for the next rate cut by the Federal Reserve to July, compared to June previously," she added.

The winners in Asia on Thursday were again led by Seoul's Kospi index, the world's best performer this year thanks to a surge in chipmakers Samsung and SK hynix as traders turn to the region's AI plays.

The region's recent rally comes amid a turn from Wall Street titans caused by concerns about extended valuations of firms such as Microsoft and Meta amid massive investments in AI deployment.

Shanghai closed higher, while Hong Kong retreated and Tokyo was flat.

The dollar weakened against the yen despite waning expectations for an early US rate cut and the prospect of big Japanese spending after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's landslide election win.

Analysts said the yen's advance has been helped by the sense of stability in Tokyo caused by the governing party's big win.

The dollar was also down against the pound and euro.

- Key figures at around 1120 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 10,495.18 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,372.71

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.4 percent at 25,206.64

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 57,639.84 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 27,032.54 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,134.02 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 50,121.40 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1882 from $1.1874 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3645 from $1.3628

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 153.09 yen from 153.14 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.10 pence from 87.13 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $69.02 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $64.32 per barrel

M.Saito--JT