European stocks extend downturn after US jobs data

LONDON: European equities sank further Friday after US jobs data, although missing forecasts, seeemed to strengthen the case for rapidly rising US interest rates, analysts said.

Wall Street meanwhile opened steady, buoyed by confirmation via the jobs market that the American economy is firing on all cylinders, they added.

The US non-farm payroll for September came in at 134,000 new jobs, far fewer than analysts had expected, but August figures were revised up, making this "far from a terrible employment number", said Craig Erlam, an analyst at Oanda.

"This is actually another very good report that other countries will be extremely envious of," he said.