European stocks fall; Risk sentiment is fragile ahead of wages By Investing.com

Investing.com – European stocks were lower on Thursday, trading lower ahead of a key monthly US jobs report amid renewed concerns about the outlook for the world’s largest economy.

At 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), Germany’s index traded flat, France’s was down 0.4 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.1 percent.

Sentiment remains fragile ahead of payrolls

Major European indexes traded in a tight range on Thursday, but sentiment remains fragile ahead of Friday’s crucial U.S. release as investors look for signs of how aggressively the Federal Reserve might seek to cut interest rates later in the month .

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has signaled that it is time to start cutting interest rates, and many in the markets expect the process to begin with a 25 basis point cut at the September 17-18 meeting.

Weak U.S. manufacturing data earlier in the week exacerbated concerns about the economic outlook, while Wednesday’s bigger-than-expected decline showed the labor market was at risk of further weakening.

The JOLTS report “adds to the body of evidence that the labor market is not only weaker than pre-pandemic, but continues to cool, and potentially now at a faster pace,” Citi analysts said in a note.

Friday sees the release of the monthly jobs report, which is expected to show about 164,000 new jobs and a 4.2 percent unemployment rate in August.

Euro area retail sales due

Back in Europe, it rose 2.9% in July from the previous month, better than the 1.6% decline expected and following the revised 4.6% increase from the previous month.

That was rare good news, especially after data released earlier this week suggested that manufacturing activity remained weak in Europe in August.

for July are expected later in the session and are expected to show a small improvement after a 0.3% decline in the previous month.

The European Central Bank cut interest rates in June and is expected to cut them again later this month.

Volvo (OTC:) will take delivery of the flagship SUV this month

In the corporate sector, shares in Volvo ( ST: ) rose 0.2% after the Swedish maker cut its adjusted profitability target for 2026 and said it aims to continue outperforming the premium car market through that year, falling previous sales target.

Burberry Stocks ( LON: ) rose 0.8% after the British luxury fashion house fell from the benchmark in September’s quarterly rebalancing as falling sales and a series of management changes added to the pressures faced by the retailer.

Crude margins are higher after US stocks are drawn

Crude oil prices rose on Thursday after falling to multi-month lows on reports that major producers may be slowing output growth as well as falling U.S. inventories.

By 3:05 a.m. ET, the contract had gained 0.3% to $72.89 a barrel, after falling in the previous session to its lowest level since June 27, 2023, while futures (WTI ) traded 0.3% higher at $69.39 a barrel after falling on Wednesday. at the smallest settlement from 11 dec.

The data found support after data showed U.S. crude fell 7.431 million barrels last week, more than the expected 1 million barrel draw.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its Russian-led allies, known as OPEC+, are discussing delaying an oil production increase scheduled to start in October, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources.