European stock exchanges posted solid gains on Friday as investors welcomed US job creation figures for last month that allayed concern over prospects for a sustained US recovery.
The figures, showing an increase of 144,000 jobs last month, roughly in line with market expectations, helped send the London FTSE 100 index to its best daily finish in four months. The index gained 0.71 percent to end the day at 4,550.8.
In Paris the CAC 40 added 0.90 percent to finish at 3,665.94 while in Frankfurt the DAX rose 0.87 percent to reach 3,866.99.
The DJ Euro STOXX 55 index of leading eurozone shares jumped 1.04 percent to 2,739.43.
On the currency market, the dollar was sharply higher against major currencies. The euro in late trading had fallen to US$1.2048 from US$1.2174 late on Thursday in New York.
On Wall Street, stocks struggled as investors sifted through details of the payrolls report and reacted to a lower outlook from chip giant Intel. Earlier in the day Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei-225 share index lost 1.17 percent to 11,022.49 points.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 0.39 percent at 12,948.10 points.
European investors, apparently unlike their US counterparts, took heart from the US employment data, seeing it as evidence that the US economy still harbored some momentum.
But according to analysts at CDC Ixis in Paris, the figures were not likely to induce the US Federal Reserve to accelerate a tightening in its monetary policy.
"These figures do not change our scenario for monetary policy," they said in a commentary. "We are expecting the Federal Reserve to continue raising rates at a measured pace."
In London investors shrugged off the warning from Intel, with chipmaker ARM Holdings gaining 2.77 percent to reach £0.835.
British Airways gained 3.10 percent to close at £2.3275 after signaling a sustained increase in long-haul traffic.
Spirits group Allied Domecq rose 2.01 percent to £4.57 on annual financial results that were consistent with market expectations despite an unfavorable exchange rate impact.
In Paris, tech stocks suffered from the Intel warning. STMicroelectronics fell 2.16 percent to 13.61 euros while Capgemini lost 3.69 percent to end the session at 22.42 euros.
Luxury group PPR gained 1.06 percent to 71.25 euros after having lost six percent on Thursday on financial results judged disappointing.
In Frankfurt Deutsche Tele-com shot up 0.84 percent to 14.45 euros after announcing an internal reorganization and the departure of the head of its T-Online Internet unit.
Share prices rose 1.09 percent to 2,621.27 in Brussels, 0.58 percent to 328.75 in Amsterdam, 0.79 percent to 8,061.1 in Madrid and 1.08 percent to 27,832 in Milan.
The Swiss Market Index of London-quoted issues gained 0.97 percent to finish at 5,502.5.
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