European markets inch higher on positive Covid news, U.S. jobs data

Pfizer announced Friday that its easy-to-administer Covid-19 pill, used in combination with a widely used HIV drug, cut the risk of hospitalization or death from the virus by 89% in high-risk adults

LONDON — European markets edged higher on Friday as investors reacted to promising news on Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill and a strong U.S. jobs report

The pan-European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.3% by mid-afternoon, heading for a new record high to close out the week. Banks and retail stocks added 1.3% while health care stocks fell 1.2%

Pfizer announced Friday that its easy-to-administer Covid-19 pill, used in combination with a widely used HIV drug, cut the risk of hospitalization or death from the virus by 89% in high-risk adults

Stateside, the Dow climbed more than 300 points at Friday’s open after October’s U.S. jobs report came in better than expected. Job gains for the month roared to 531,000 versus a consensus projection of 450,000

The Bank of England surprised markets on Thursday by holding interest rates at historic lows, after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it will begin to curb the pace of its monthly bond-buying program “later this month

British Airways parent IAG, Germany’s Uniper and Spain’s Amadeus were among the European companies reporting earnings before the bell on Friday

In other corporate news, UBS is set to ditch the rank of group managing director as CEO Ralph Hamers looks to streamline the Swiss lender’s management hierarchy

On the data front, euro zone September retail sales posted a surprise drop, according to Eurostat data on Friday, sliding 0.3% month-on-month as weakness in Germany weighed on the bloc

German industrial production also dropped unexpectedly in September, official data showed on Friday, falling by 1.1% month-on-month as output in Europe’s largest economy was hit by supply bottlenecks for materials. French industrial production also contracted by 1.3%