Italian and Spanish stocks jumped on Friday, leading the broader European equities higher, as both countries ushered in new governments after a week when Italian political uncertainty rocked global markets.
Stocks held to gains after the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report from the U.S., which beat expectations.
How markets were performing
Italy’s FTSE MIB index I945, +1.49%[1] jumped 1.5% to close at 22,109.55. In the fixed-income market, the country’s 2-year bond yield TMBMKIT-02Y, +0.79%[2] fell 27 basis points to 0.933%, according to Tradeweb, in a tumultuous week for the Italian debt market. Yields fall as bond prices rise.
Spain’s IBEX 35 IBEX, +1.76%[3] tacked on 1.8% at 9,632.40, coming off a two-month low logged Thursday.
In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 index DAX, +0.95%[4] rose 1% to 12,724.27, recovering from Thursday’s tumble driven by losses for Deutsche Bank and car makers.
France’s CAC 40 index PX1, +1.24%[5] added 1.2% to 5,465.53. In London, the FTSE 100 UKX, +0.31%[6] picked up 0.3%[7] at 7,701.77.
Those moves helped the broader Stoxx Europe 600 Index SXXP, +1.01%[8] rise 1% to end at 386.91, trimming its weekly loss to 1.1%.
The euro EURUSD, -0.1539%[9] reversed gains and fell to $1.1670, from $1.1694 late Thursday in New York.
Reuters
What’s driving markets
Politics were 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...