Europe markets rise as EU trade chief says U.S. talks ‘advancing in the right direction’
European stock markets rose as the EU trade chief said talks with the U.S. were ’advancing in the right direction’.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index provisionally closed higher by 0.5%. Other major indexes were also in the black. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2%, Germany’s DAX was up 0.7%, and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.5%.
Private sector job creation slowed to a near-standstill in May, hitting its lowest level in more than two years as signs emerged of a weakening labor market, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday.
Payrolls increased just 37,000 for the month, below the downwardly revised 60,000 in April and the Dow Jones forecast for 110,000. It was the lowest monthly job total from the ADP count since March 2023.
The report comes two days before the more closely watched nonfarm payrolls count from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is expected to show a gain of 125,000 and the unemployment rate steady at 4.2%.
Bulgaria on Wednesday secured the green light to join the euro zone, meaning the bloc could soon grow from 20 to 21 members.
The European Commission and European Central Bank both assessed that the country met the requirements to adopt the single currency starting next year.
Source : CNBC
