Markets report: global values advance on US jobs data

European stocks rose, ending a five-day losing streak and rebounding from their lowest level since October 14th, after a US jobs report showed employers added more workers than forecast in November.

In Dublin the Iseq rose 0.89 per cent to close at 4,388.37 with traders reporting strong interest in some stocks and improved sentiment.

DUBLIN
Bank of Ireland had a quieter day following its being in the news all week in relation to its preference shares. It closed the day at €0.26, a rise of 0.78 per cent or just 1 cent off where it began the week.

Ryanair was also busy. The stock closed at €5.98, a rise of 2.4 per cent. Aer Lingus closed at €1.29, a fall of 1.53 per cent.

Kerry Group had a good day's trading, and finished at €48.62, a rise of 1.65 per cent. Kingspan enjoyed respectable levels of activity and closed at €12.12, a rise of 2.29 per cent. CRH closed at €17.46, a rise of 0.69 per cent.

LONDON
UK stocks climbed, with the FTSE 100 Index halting its longest losing streak since April, as US employers added more workers in November than forecast and the jobless rate dropped to a five-year low.

The FTSE 100 gained 53.66 points, or 0.8 per cent, to close at 6,551.99, the biggest increase since October 11th. The gauge has still retreated 1.5 per cent this week, its fifth consecutive week of losses, as investors weighed US economic reports for clues on the outlook for Federal Reserve stimulus.

Berkeley Group soared to its highest price to date after increasing its dividend six-fold.

Taylor Wimpey rose 2.4 per cent to 108.5 pence, and Persimmon, Britain's largest housebuilder, advanced 2.5 per cent to 1,183 pence.

FirstGroup added 5 per cent to 116.6 pence. The rail company named John McFarlane as its chairman, effective January 1st. McFarlane, who is chairman of insurer Aviva, will replace Martin Gilbert.

LSE climbed 2.8 per cent to 1,626 pence after Bank of America's Merrill Lynch unit raised its rating on the London-based exchange to buy from neutral.

Royal Dutch Shell rose 2.9 per cent to 2,157 pence after HSBC initiated coverage of the stock with an overweight rating, the equivalent to a buy recommendation. HSBC forecast improved control of capital expenditure from the incoming chief executive officer in the first quarter of 2014.

Domino's Pizza sank 9.3 per cent to 480 pence, the steepest decline in more than two years. Chief executive Lance Batchelor will leave in April to take a new position in a private-equity backed firm.

EUROPE
Out of the 17 western European markets, 12 benchmark indexes rose. France's CAC 40 was 0.7 per cent ahead and Germany's DAX jumped 1 per cent.

Givaudan lost 2.1 per cent to 1,210 Swiss francs. Nestlé rose 1.1 per cent to 65.20 francs.

L'Oreal gained 3.6 per cent to €126.80. TNT Express lost 4.7 per cent to €6.30, the biggest drop since January 14th. PostNL, the Dutch mail service with operations in Britain and Germany, said it will sell about half of its 29.8 per cent stake in the Dutch package-delivery company to reduce debt. The 15 per cent stake up for sale is valued at about €540 million. PostNL gained 1.9 per cent to €4.18.

US
US stocks rose after a stronger than expected payrolls report gave traders confidence that the economy could be healthy enough to withstand a scaling back of the Federal Reserve's stimulus.

Non-farm payrolls added 203,000 in November, exceeding the forecast, and the US unemployment rate fell to a five-year low of 7 per cent.

Intel rose 2.8 per cent at $24.94 after Citigroup raised its rating on the chipmaker's stock to "buy" from "neutral." JC Penney fell 6 per cent to $8.32. – (Additional reporting, Bloomberg, Reuters)