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Euro shares get a lift from US data

Friday, October 05 17:17:15

European equities powered higher today, propelled by a strong U.S. jobs report which reassured investors about the health of the global economy and opened the door for a further short-term leg up in miners and industrials.

The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to its lowest level in nearly four years in September, in a bout of good news for European corporates increasingly looking abroad for profits as much of their domestic region faces recession.

That helped the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 provisionally finish 1 percent higher at 1,111.18 points, while the EuroSTOXX 50 index of euro zone blue chips gained 1.8 percent to 2,529.96 points. "The figures were better than expected and it's carrying markets up. Equities can still rally in the short term, ... may be a couple of percent more," said Peter Garnry, equity strategist at Saxo Bank. Autos, banks and basic resources were among the top gainers thanks to their sensitivity to risk appetite and global economic health.