In European Equity Markets stocks finished Friday’s trading session on a positive note, following a better-than-expected jobs report from out of the U.S. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.43 percent by the close, but off session highs. On the week, the STOXX 600 jumped 3.05 percent. Looking to European bourses, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent, while France’s CAC 40 rose 0.39 percent. Germany’s DAX however came under slight pressure, closing down flat. GVC Holdings posted a full-year net gaming revenue rise of 17 percent in 2017. The online gambling firm said its latest figures were lifted by gains from the bwin.party business it bought three years ago. Shares of GVC Holdings jumped 5 percent.

In Currency Markets the US dollar was firm against a basket of currencies on Friday as U.S. job growth recorded its best month in over 1-1/2 years in February while wage gains slowed more than expected, supporting the view the Federal Reserve would not quicken its pace on raising interest rates. The yen fell broadly after the Bank of Japan stuck to its dovish policy stance. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, while sounding optimistic on growth, stressed there would be no plan to change monetary policy before its 2 percent inflation target is reached. The dollar was last up 0.69 percent at 106.93 yen, while the euro was up 0.80 percent, at 131.81 yen.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose more than 2 percent on Friday, rebounding from two days of declines as Wall Street rose on strong U.S. jobs data, while investors also grew hopeful that a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un could ease geopolitical tensions. Brent crude futures rose $1.60 to $65.21 a barrel, a 2.5 percent gain. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.60 to $61.72 a barrel, a 2.7 percent gain. The EIA said on Tuesday it expects U.S. crude output in the fourth quarter of 2018 to reach an average of 11.17 million bpd, up from the previous forecast a month ago of 11.04 million bpd.

In US Equity Markets stocks extended gains on Friday, with the Nasdaq touching a record, after data showed strong job additions in February but muted wage growth that indicated a gradual rise in inflation and helped temper expectations of faster interest rate increases. the S&P 500 .was up 27.89 points, or 1.02 percent. The Nasdaq Composite was up 79.29 points, or 1.07 percent. The index touched a record of 7,514.34. Among bigger movers, discount retailer Big Lots slid 9 percent after posting a surprise decline in same-store sales and forecasting a weak profit for the current quarter and the full year. Tesla fell 1.2 percent, following the exit of its chief accounting officer and a Morgan Stanley note on rising competition.

In Bond Markets borrowing costs in Spain and Portugal were on track for their biggest weekly falls in more than five months on Friday, a day after the ECB gave up a pledge to increase bond buys if needed but signaled a slow route out of exiting its massive stimulus. Most bond yields across the single currency bloc were 1-2 basis points higher in early trade. Spain’s 10-year bond yield, just marginally higher at 1.41 percent, was set to end the week down around 13 bps, its biggest weekly fall since July last year. Portuguese bond yields, hovering close to Thursday’s six-week low around 1.79 percent, was set for its biggest weekly fall since September, of around 13 bps.