European stocks recoup losses after US jobs data

LONDON (AP) — European stocks recouped most of their earlier losses and Wall Street futures turned higher Thursday after weekly U.S. jobless claims data stoked hopes that the pace of layoffs in the world’s largest economy is easing.

The FTSE 100 index of leading was down 2.07 points, or less than 0.1 percent, at 5,105.82 while Germany’s DAX rose 5.67 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,449.90. The CAC-40 in France was up 9.06 points, or 0.3 percent, at 3,679.39.

Wall Street was poised to open higher. Dow futures were 25 points, or 0.3 percent, higher at 9,810 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 futures rose 3 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,050.

The expected advance in the U.S. came after the Labor Department said first-time claims for jobless benefits fell 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 512,000. Economists had expected 523,000 new claims.

The jobless claims figures came as attention in the markets was turning towards Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for October. The jobs data often set the stock market tone for a week or two.

At the moment, analysts expect payrolls to have fallen by around 175,000 during the month, while the unemployment rate is expected to tick up further to, or just below, 10 percent.

“Of course, the U.S. nonfarm payrolls...will likely prove instrumental in defining where the major indices end the week,” said Cameron Peacock, a market analyst at IG Markets.

Interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England had little impact in the markets.

Both banks kept their main interest rates unchanged at record lows of 1 percent and 0.5 percent respectively.

Investors will be looking to see if European Central Bank’s president Jean-Claude Trichet suggests interest rates may rise in the months ahead as the 16 countries that use the euro slowly emerge from recession.

In Britain, the Bank of England said it will pour another 25 billion pounds ($41 billion) into the British economy to it out of recession as it kept its main interest rate at a record low of 0.5 percent.

The bank decided to expand its asset purchase program to 200 billion pounds from 175 billion pounds. The purchases, which are expected to take three months to complete, aim to increase the amount of money in the economy and are financed by the issuance of central bank reserves.

European markets were already down before the decisions after the U.S. Federal Reserve cautioned on Wednesday about the wider economic impact of rising unemployment.

The Fed indicated it would keep its benchmark interest rate at near zero percent “for an extended period” even though it conceded that economic activity had picked up. The Fed warned household spending would remain “constrained by ongoing job losses, sluggish income growth, lower housing wealth and tight credit.”

Many analysts think that the markets are at a crucial juncture and that stocks, which have rallied for most of the year, could be facing a year-end slide. Over the last couple of months, most of the dips have proved to be short-lived.