adminAmid the gloom, airline stocks also flew into turbulence on concerns over the impact of a bird flu outbreak in Asia, dealers said.
In afternoon deals, London’s FTSE 100 index of top companies sank 1,87 percent at 6 225,45 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 shed 2,03 percent to 7 658, 33 points and in Paris the CAC 40 lost 2,21 percent to 3 643,70 points.
The US labour market was far weaker than expected in March, with the economy adding only 88 000 jobs, a third of the number in February, according to official data.
Job creation slumped to its softest level since June 2012, and was well below the 192,000 jobs that analysts had expected.
Businesses appeared reluctant to hire in the face of sluggish growth and after the federal government’s US$85 billion a month “sequester” spending cuts kicked in on March 1.
“The weak March is particularly discouraging given the inevitable impact on the economy from the sequester,” said Sophia Koropeckyj of Moody’s Analytics.
“However, the recovery is on much better footing this year than in the last few springs and the recovery in the housing market will do much to support growth,” she said.
Meanwhile, European airline stocks dived on Friday on rising fears among investors of the impact of a news strain of bird flu that has already killed six people in China.
Air-France KLM shares were down 7,43 percent to 6,77 euros on the Paris stock exchange, while Lufthansa was off 5,60 percent to 14,09 euros in Frankfurt.
In London, shares in IAG, which owns British Airways and Iberia, fell 7,02 percent to 234,6 pence, while low-cost carrier easyJet’s share price showed a loss of 7,38 percent at 1 016,00 pence.
“Concerns over bird flu could be a catalyst for these drops,” said a Paris trader.
The sector was also hit after easyJet forecast that it would halve its first-half pre-tax losses, but would remain in the red due the adverse impact of currency movements and changes in fuel prices.
The low-cost carrier said in a trading update that pre-tax losses would stand at between £60 million and £65 million for the six months to March 31.
“Brokers have taken a mixed view of the numbers, which saw the budget carrier trim first half losses significantly, but voice concerns over the general state of the economy and its likely impact on demand in 2013,” added Basi.
In foreign exchange activity on Friday, the euro shot up to US$1,2998 from US$1,2934 late in New York on Thursday and even briefly hit above the US$1,30 mark.
On the London Bullion Market, gold prices rose to US$1 552,75 per ounce from US$1 546,50.
In earlier deals on Friday, Hong Kong dived 2,73 percent after bird flu deaths were reported in mainland China, which rekindled memories of the SARS outbreak in 2003. — AFP.
Online Reporter