(MENAFN- AFP) European stock markets diverged on Friday after a mixed report on US jobs while the euro recovered ground against the dollar after a strong week for the greenback.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0.34 percent to stand at 6,573.14 points, with support coming from rebounding miners that offset falls for banks.
Elsewhere in afternoon deals, Frankfurt's DAX 30 was down 0.70 percent at 9,311.55 points and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 1.17 percent to 4,178.17 compared with Thursday's closing value.
The markets focused on the mixed US jobs data which showed the jobs count came in below the 235,000 expected by analysts while the unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.8 percent, its lowest level since July 2008.
Wall Street stocks retreated from record highs in opening trade Friday after the Department of Labor's report.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,508.23, down 0.26 percent, while the broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.18 percent to stand at 2,027.61.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.17 percent to 4,630.35.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare called the report "more good than bad, but not indisputably great."
Europe's markets had rallied on Thursday as European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi signalled that the ECB was readying further stimulus measures if needed to combat deflation and stagnation within the eurozone.
The euro rose on Friday, with the currency climbing to $1.2391 from $1.2371 late in New York on Thursday. The European single currency had at one point Thursday struck $1.2365 -- the lowest level for more than two years.
On Friday, the euro rose to 78.27 British pence from 78.15 pence, while the British pound edged down to $1.5816 from $1.5829 on Thursday.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold reached $1,145 an ounce, up from a 4.5-year low of $1,131.24 on Thursday -- a level matched also on Friday.
On the corporate front, mining companies shot higher after some recent heavy losses caused by falling metals prices.
Silver producer Fresnillo in afternoon deals won 4.15 percent to 728.50 pence, Anglo American gained 2.93 percent to 1,368 pence and BHP Billiton climbed 2.95 percent to 1,676 pence.
Fallers were led by the banks, with Standard Chartered losing 2.45 percent to 936.5 pence, Societe Generale shedding 3.55 percent to 35.755 euros, and Deutsche Bank showing a fall of 2.57 percent at 24.04 euros.
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