Italian and Spanish stocks led broader European equities higher Friday, as the countries usher in new governments after a week when Italian political uncertainty rocked markets.
Stocks held to gains after the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report from the U.S., which beat expectations.
How markets are performing
Italy’s FTSE MIB index I945, +1.99%[1] jumped 2.3% to 22,282.33. In the fixed-income market, the country’s 2-year bond yield TMBMKIT-02Y, -5.92%[2] fell 39 basis points to 0.81%, according to Tradeweb, in a tumultuous week for the Italian debt market. Yields fall as bond prices rise.
Spain’s IBEX 35 IBEX, +1.87%[3] tacked on 2% at 9,651.90, coming off a two-month low logged Thursday.
In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 index DAX, +1.33%[4] was up 1.4% to 12,777.53, recovering from Thursday’s tumble driven by losses for Deutsche Bank and car makers.
Those moves helped the broader Stoxx Europe 600 Index SXXP, +1.13%[5] rise 1.2% to 387.47. But for the week, the pan-European benchmark looks likely to fall by 0.9%.
France’s CAC 40 index PX1, +1.43%[6] added 1.5% to 5,476.45. In London, the FTSE 100 UKX, +0.52%[7] picked up 0.5% at 7,716.89.
The euro EURUSD, -0.1796%[8] reversed gains and fell to $1.1674, from $1.1694 late Thursday in New York.
Reuters
What’s driving markets
Politics are once again in focus, after uncertainty over Italy’s government rattled markets earlier in the week.
Late Thursday, populist parties the 5 Star Movement and the League made a deal to form a coalition government[9] led by...