Europe stocks close higher as traders gear up for U.S. jobs data; Swedish biotech up 26%
European stocks closed higher on Thursday as investors geared up for the next reading of U.S. nonfarm payrolls which is due Friday.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session down by nearly 0.4% provisionally, with oil and gas stocks adding 2% to lead gains as most sectors and major bourses traded in positive territory.
Investors around the world are closely watching data releases from the U.S. this week. First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 340,000 for the week ended Aug. 28, versus a Dow Jones expectation of 345,000. The number is also the lowest since March 2020 at the beginning of the Covid crisis.
The number boosted U.S. equity markets, with the S&P 500 rising to a record high.
The U.S. Labor Department’s nonfarm payrolls report is due Friday. The August data is expected to show 720,000 new jobs added and an unemployment rate falling to 5.2%, according to Dow Jones estimates.
Reference: CNBC
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