Financial and Technology News

The surge in equities after US data signaled the labor market is steady sent European shares toward their highest levels since April.

The STOXX Europe 600 Index rallied 2 percent in London, the most since June 29, with the advance gathering pace after the report. US payrolls climbed by 151,000 last month, following an upwardly revised gain of 275,000 in July. The jobless rate remained at 4.9 percent.

The numbers helped ease speculation that the US Federal Reserve might increase borrowing costs as soon as this month, sending all Western European markets flying higher in a broad-based rally that lifted shares of all industries.

The STOXX 600 took its weekly gain to 2 percent, the most since July, with the volume of shares trading 17 percent greater than the 30-day average.

“Disappointing payrolls confirms the market’s view that a rate hike is unlikely this month,” said Peter Dixon, a global equities economist at Commerzbank AG in London. “They were in the margin of tolerance. When you have unemployment of 4.9 percent you can hardly say the economy is struggling.”

Bets for a Fed hike this month slipped to 32 percent from 34 percent before the jobs data. Fed Chair Janet Yellen last week said that policy tightening would depend on the degree that data “continues to confirm” the outlook. December is the first month with better-than-even odds of a Fed move.

Consumer-related firms and utilities led the gains in Europe on Friday, with Germany’s RWE AG and Unilever up more than 4 percent. Drugmakers rebounded after falling to their lowest prices since June. Miners climbed with commodities, while energy producers headed for their largest rallies in two months.

Banks were set to post the biggest surge among industry groups this week, up 6.1 percent in the period — the most since July.

The rebound in commodity firms and utilities pushed the UK’s FTSE 100 Index and France’s CAC 40 Index up more than 2.2 percent, the most among major markets in the region. The British gauge headed for its biggest jump since June, after three days of losses took it to the lowest in almost a month. Germany’s DAX Index added 1.4 percent, while the Swiss Market Index gained 1.9 percent.

Equities came out of their torpor, rising for a second week after the rebound following the Brexit vote stalled amid seasonally low volume, uncertainty over US monetary policy, mixed economic data and oscillating oil prices.

After hovering around its 200-day moving average for most of month, the STOXX 600 closed above it for six straight days, the longest stretch in a year. Still, a Bank of America Corp report on Friday showed investors pulled cash from funds tracking the region’s equities for a 30th straight week, extending a record streak of outflows.

Among the 53 stocks in the STOXX 600 that fell:

Rocket Internet SE slid 7.7 percent after the German startup investor announced a first-half loss.

SBM Offshore NV tumbled 11 percent after a Brazilian prosecutor failed to ratify a leniency agreement related to a bribery case concerning Petroleo Brasileiro SA.

Adidas AG lost 1.6 percent after Callaway Golf Co’s chief executive said it would not bid for the German company’s golf division.