European markets live updates: stocks, news, data

Europe’s Stoxx 600 index closed flat on Friday, as positive momentum from the prior session faltered.

France’s CAC 40 eked out a 0.15% gain while Germany’s DAX and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 fell 0.16% and 0.43%, respectively.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite opened Friday’s session in the green.

The broad S&P 500 added around 0.1% shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.2%. The Dow, meanwhile, flickered around its flatline.

Following Friday’s open, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are on track to finish the week with gains of 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively. The Dow has lagged, down around 0.7% on the week.

— Alex Harring

The U.S. economy added 275,000 jobs last month, easily beating a Dow Jones consensus estimate of 198,000. Such a figure would raise concern over the possibility of a delay in Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

However, the U.S. unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.9% from 3.7%. On top of that, wages grew at a slower-than-expected pace. Jobs growth for January was also revised sharply lower to 229,000 from 353,00.

— Fred Imbert

Wegovy obesity drug maker Novo Nordisk surpassed Tesla in market value, after fresh early trial data showed positive results for its new experimental weight loss pill.

Shares of the Danish company hit a record high on Thursday, rallying by as much as 8%, after telling investors that a Phase I trial of the company’s amycretin pill showed 13.1% weight loss in participants after 12 weeks.

Novo Nordisk is now the 12th most valuable company in the world, with a market cap of $604 billion — ahead of Tesla’s $569 billion, according to FactSet data.

Shares were trading slightly lower on Friday, down 0.7%, by 11:00 a.m. London time.

— Karen Gilchrist

Spanish drugmaker Grifols jumped 17% after it published its 2023 results, which it said were approved with an unqualified opinion from auditor KPMG, according to Reuters.

The beleaguered business has been battling dramatic stock swings following a January report from Gotham City Research questioning its financial accounts. A second report released Thursday by the short-seller, which questioned the company’s transparency, saw the stock drop 15%.

On the other end, food delivery company HelloFresh plummeted 44% after forecasting a fall in 2024 earnings in its latest financial report.

— Karen Gilchrist

German industrial output rose 1% in January, more than the 0.5% expected, new data showed Friday.

Construction and manufacturing output also rose 2.7% and 1.1%, respectively, marking a slight boost for the lackluster German economy.

— Karen Gilchrist

2023 marked a strong run in stocks — and markets are still running hot so far this year.

The S&P 500 spiked around 24% in 2023, recovering from a bear market in 2022. Stocks around the world also made gains, with the the FTSE All World Ex U.S. index jumping 16.2% in 2023.

CNBC Pro trawled through Goldman’s analyst research as well as latest global conviction lists, to find stocks that made significant gains in 2023, but still have more than 30% potential upside in 2024, based on the bank’s latest price targets.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Shares of Nvidia have risen 280% over the past year thanks to surging sales of its chips that power artificial intelligence applications.

However, the Silicon Valley company isn’t alone in the AI-fueled rally. Investors are also ploughing their money into companies buying these chips, amid expectations that AI will help improve productivity and profits.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read about the Nvidia customers whose stock is rallying.

— Ganesh Rao

European markets are poised to open higher Friday.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 5 points higher at 7,702, Germany’s DAX up 31 points at 17,891, France’s CAC 13 points higher at 8,036 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 62 points at 33,485, according to data from IG. 

On the earnings front, Europai, Cepsa, Royal London Group and Informa are set to announce results.

— Karen Gilchrist