European Stock Markets Rise Amid Oil Gains

European stock markets rose Friday, aided by gains in the oil sector, as investors await the key US monthly jobs data and next week's presidential election.

At 07:50 ET (11:50 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.7% higher, the CAC 40 in France rose 0.7%, and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. gained 0.9%.

Siemens in Buying Spree?

The European earnings season has paused after a busy week. Gains were supported by a strong rise in oil prices, with the energy sector gaining over 1% amid reports of Iran preparing a retaliatory strike on Israel from Iraq.

BP, Shell, Eni, and TotalEnergies all gained over 1%. Reckitt Benckiser stock surged over 8% after being cleared of liability in a preterm formula case. Siemens stock rose 1% after managing member Cedrik Neike stated the company has the financial strength for further software acquisitions after its $10.6 billion purchase of Altair.

Attention remains on Wall Street as Apple and Amazon released quarterly results. Apple reported modest growth while Amazon surpassed profit and sales expectations.

Nonfarm Payrolls in Focus

European economic data was sparse, directing investor focus to the influential monthly payrolls release in the US. The US economy is expected to have added over 100,000 jobs in October, with the unemployment rate expected to remain at 4.1% and average hourly earnings at 4.0%. This release is crucial in determining future Federal Reserve monetary policy. Investors seem influenced by the upcoming US presidential election, with Trump and Harris closely matched in polls, affecting sentiments regarding inflationary policies.

In the UK, British house prices rose by just 0.1% in October, a decline from September's 0.6% increase.

Crude Prices Rise on Raised Tensions

Oil prices rose Friday, recovering some losses amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. By 07:50 ET, Brent crude climbed 1.9% to $74.22 per barrel, while US crude futures (WTI) traded 2.1% higher at $70.72 per barrel. Iran's planned attack on Israel from Iraqi territory is driving these gains along with positive manufacturing activity data from China, despite both contracts set to fall around 2% this week due to earlier losses.