European stocks swing on US jobs data

European stock markets swung in volatile trade on Friday as investors pondered whether tepid US jobs data was a sign the Fed may delay shutting down its stimulus programme. Immediately after the US Labor Department reported the US economy added 169,000 jobs last month and revised lower the previous two months numbers, stocks in Europe swung into gains. But the US unemployment rate ticked down to 7.3 percent, closer to the Fed's target of 7.0 percent for raising interest rates, and European stocks soon fell back into the red. At close, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index showed a gain of 0.23 percent at 6,547.33 points. Frankfurt's DAX 30 climbed 0.49 percent to 8,275.67 points and the CAC 40 in Paris advanced 1.06 percent to 4,049.19 points. The jobs data also sent Wall Street on a roller coaster ride. At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16 percent to 14,961.82 points. The broad-based S&P 500 increased 0.35 percent to 1,660.91, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.18 percent to 3,665.28. The European single currency firmed to $1.3168 from $1.3117 late on Thursday. The dollar fell to 99.04 yen from 100.12 yen. On the London Bullion Market, gold prices edged up to $1,387 an ounce from $1,385. The US jobs data could help determine whether the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) begins scaling back its $85 billion-a-month bond purchases this month. While a strong figure would have provided more evidence the world's top economy is on the road to recovery, it would also have signalled the beginning of the end of the Fed's year-old bond-buying scheme. Anticipation of the end of the US monetary stimulus has been moving markets worldwide. Emerging markets stocks and currencies have slumped while government bond yields have crept up. While some saw the jobs number as possibly pushing the Fed to hold off from beginning its tapering of its asset purchases at its September 18 meeting, Berenberg bank economist Robert Wood said the US central bank was likely to still go ahead. "...today's disappointing non-farm payrolls report could mean they start by reducing their asset purchases only a little, perhaps cutting back on monthly asset purchases by $15bn and saying it will stick with the new rate of purchases until the end of the year," he said. World leaders meeting at the G20 summit also warned that the global economic recovery is too weak, with the risk of a further slowdown and some emerging markets showing particular fragility. In a reference to concerns by emerging markets about the tapering of stimulus programmes, they vowed that future changes to monetary policy will be "carefully calibrated and clearly communicated". "Global growth prospects for 2013 have been marked down repeatedly over the last year, global rebalancing is incomplete, regional growth disparities remain wide, and unemployment, particularly among youth, remains unacceptably high," the leaders said in their final communique after their meeting in Russia. The British pound slipped against the euro and dollar after news of flat industrial production and a worsening trade deficit in July. Sterling slid to 0.8423 pence against a euro, and dipped to $1.5632 from $1.5586 on Thursday. Asian equities mostly rose on Friday as traders awaited the jobs data. But stocks in Tokyo tumbled 1.45 percent, with speculation that the capital would fail in its bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games adding to downward pressure. Profit-taking also capped buying at the end of a strong week for global markets fuelled by healthy manufacturing data from China, Europe and the United States.