LONDON: European stock markets traded mixed on Monday despite investor enthusiasm over bright jobs data in the United States.
Asian equities also advanced Monday, spurred by the strong US figures on Friday which raised optimism over the health of the world's biggest economy.
US stocks started the week where the Dow left off Friday after the rosy employment figures had sent the US blue-chip index to an eighth straight record finish.
In opening trading the Dow moved a few points higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also rising.
London pushed ahead on Monday but Frankfurt was hobbled by lacklustre second-quarter earnings from German healthcare giant Fresenius. Paris was near flat.
"European stock markets are quiet this morning," said analyst David Madden at CMC Markets UK.
"The FTSE 100 is outperforming the eurozone benchmarks ... as mining companies are helping the London market.
"Glencore, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are some of the biggest gainers on the FTSE 100 as the price of iron ore moved higher in Asia overnight."
The US Labor Department reported that the economy added more than 200,000 net new positions for the second straight month -- well above forecasts -- with the unemployment rate falling back to a 16-year low.
Analysts said the robust job creation figures coupled with rising wages could spur the US Federal Reserve to raise the cost of borrowing a third time this year to keep a tight rein on inflation.
"The combination of stronger jobs and wage growth, a fall in the unemployment rate and an increase in the participation rate all scream a strong labour market," added Greg McKenna, analyst at AxiTrader.
"That, in turn, reinforces the Fed's path back toward policy normalisation and suggests the tapering of the balance sheet will begin soon and more rate hikes are coming."
- 'Broad-based growth' -
The prospect of higher rates has provided modest support for the greenback.
Continuing political turmoil in Washington had cast doubt on President Donald Trump's stalled economic growth agenda and dragged the dollar down, and market-watchers warned the outlook for the dollar remains uncertain.
"Given typical August liquidity conditions, we could be in for a bumpy week as the market irons out if we're in a short-term USD correction or a trend reversal," said Oanda analyst Stephen Innes.
In commodities trading, US crude was trading at around $49 as a meeting of leading oil-exporting countries gets underway to examine why some producers were failing to fully implement cuts to rein in global supply.
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