Europe close: Stocks close at session-highs

European stocks jumped in the final hours of trading following the release of a surprisingly strong set of US jobs figures for the month of July and in the wake of Thursday´s aggressive easing by the Bank of England.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 1.05% or 3.54 points to end the day at 341.38 and Germany’s DAX was up 1.36% or 139.35 points to 10,367.21, while France’s CAC 40 clocked in with an advance of 1.49% or 64.92 points to 4,410.55.

West Texas Intermediate declined 0.987% to $41.52 a barrel, while Brent crude slipped 1.003% to end the day at $43.85.

US non-farm payrolls rose by a bumper 255,000 persons last month, easily eclipsing forecasts for an increase of 180,000.

"The strong report reduces some of the concerns about the current economic situation in the US but we still need further data to confirm that both GDP growth and employment growth are still on track. Despite the strong jobs report for July, we stick to our call that the Fed will stay on hold for the rest of the year, although it makes a hike later this year more likely," analysts at Danske Bank said.

Their peers at Barclays Research were more upbeat, telling clients that: "On the whole, this morning’s strong July employment report indicates that labor market health remains intact and, in our view, reduces near-term recession risk for the US economy. Furthermore, the print should boost FOMC members’ confidence in the outlook, especially following the unexpected weakness in Q2 GDP. We continue to expect the Fed to hike rates at its September meeting, and we look to Chair Yellen’s appearance at the Jackson Hole Policy Symposium on August 26 for confirmation of this view."

On Thursday, the Bank of England cut interest rates to a record low of 0.25%, expanded the asset purchase programme by £60bn and launched a new £100bn funding scheme for banks.

On the corporate front, Royal Bank of Scotland was under the cosh after it reported a £2bn loss for the first half of the year.

Allianz was also in the red after the German insurer posted a 46% drop in net profit for the second quarter, while Novo Nordisk tumbled as it cut its profit and sales forecast for the year.

On the upside, Mediobanca leaped higher after it reported a 31% jump in fourth quarter net profit, while LafargeHolcim advanced after its second-quarter earnings beat analysts’ expectations.