Markets advance across Europe on US unemployment data

Markets advanced across Europe on Thursday, lifted by U.S. unemployment figures for October, which showed the world's largest economy created more jobs than had been forecast by analysts in the month. Milan's FTSE MIB index bucked the trend, declining 0.2% to 15,769. Italian stock-market watchdog Consob on Friday published a list of companies currently being shorted by investors, including Italy's state-owned defence company Finmeccanica, carmaker Fiat, and media companies Mediaset and RCS. Other shorted stock include Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world's oldest bank, Italian insurance company Assicurazioni Generali, and tire company Pirelli, according to information published on Consob's website. Consob was complying with an EU regulaton that came into effect Thursday controlling the short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps for the entire European Union. Meanwhile indices across Europe, including Athens that gained 5.4% to 802 points, jumped after the United States announced it had created a higher-than-expected 171,000 jobs in October. Analysts had expected some 125,000 new jobs to be created over the period. The private sector created 184,000 new jobs in October, the highest figure since February 2012. The yield spread between 10-year Italian bonds and the German benchmark, closed at 349 points with 10-year yields at 4.9%. The spread is seen as a barometer of Italy's borrowing costs in the eurozone crisis. Madrid's Ibex index advanced 1.1% to 7,968 points. London's Ftse-100 stock market rose 0.1% to 5,868 points. The Frankfurt Dax bourse gained 0.4% to 7,363 points, while the Paris Cac 40 Index increased 0.5% to 3,492 points.