European Stocks Today: STOXX 600 Rises as Tech Leads and Bond Yields Ease Before U.S. Payrolls

European shares climbed on Friday, with the STOXX 600 grinding higher as falling long-dated yields and a technology-sector boost outweighed nagging concerns about public finances. By late morning, the benchmark hovered in the 551–552 zone, extending Thursday’s rebound and teeing up a steadier finish to a week that began with a bond-market scare. The backdrop: a market leaning toward a Federal Reserve rate cut this month, which is softening the global rates impulse and giving equity valuations some breathing room.
The rates reset has been most visible at the long end. France’s 30-year yield slipped from midweek highs near 4.52% toward 4.39%, while the UK’s long gilt yield eased to roughly 5.55% after fears over fiscal slippage pushed borrowing costs to their loftiest levels since the late 1990s earlier in the week. That pullback matters for duration-sensitive corners of the equity market—think quality tech and defensive growth—where discount-rate relief directly supports multiples.
Stock-specific catalysts added thrust. In Scandinavia, Hexagon jumped after agreeing to sell a design-and-engineering unit to Cadence Design, a portfolio move that investors welcomed for its strategic focus and potential balance-sheet benefits. The news flowed into the European tech cohort, which has been tracking global enthusiasm around AI infrastructure and custom silicon. Across the Channel, the FTSE 100 edged higher as industrials, banks, and miners did the heavy lifting, even as some consumer names lagged on idiosyncratic updates.
Yet the market’s posture was still cautious. The U.S. nonfarm payrolls release—due just after Europe’s lunch hour—can reset both rate-cut odds and the cross-asset tone in minutes. A cooler hiring print with tamer average hourly earnings would likely extend the “risk-on with guardrails” setup: lower global yields, a softer dollar, and support for high-quality growth. A hot surprise could quickly undo the relief in OATs and gilts, pressure valuation-rich sectors, and revive questions about how far the Fed is willing to ease.
Under the hood, the macro picture remains uneven. German factory orders highlighted ongoing volatility in big-ticket transport and a cautious capex pulse, tempering optimism about a swift industrial upswing. Fiscal storylines continue to shape local risk premia—particularly in France—even as today’s retreat in yields helps. Energy provided little direction into the weekend’s OPEC+ gathering, and currency moves were incremental, with a mildly softer dollar offering a marginal tailwind to euro-area exporters.
For portfolio positioning, three checks frame the day: (1) the payrolls headline and revisions, which can shift the three-month trend that rates traders watch; (2) wage growth, the lynchpin for services inflation; and (3) follow-through in European tech after the Hexagon/Cadence news. If the U.S. data cooperate, Europe’s soft-landing trade has room to run; if not, expect a fast rotation back into defensives and a renewed test of the bond market’s nerves.