Europe open: Stocks nudge higher as investors look to payrolls

European equities nudged higher in early trade but moves were muted as investors erred on the side of caution ahead of the all-important nonfarm payrolls report.

At 0900 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were all up 0.2%.

Meanwhile, oil prices were fairly steady following choppy moves on Thursday, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.1% at $34.60 a barrel and Brent crude down 0.2% to $36.98

The nonfarm payrolls report and the unemployment rate are both due at 1330 GMT.

“While the ADP employment report was fairly good, it was also pretty positive in January which would suggest perhaps that today’s non-farm payrolls report could well see an upward revision. We can also expect to see various monthly revisions for the whole of last year as well,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

He said expectations are for an improvement to 195,000 while the unemployment rate is expected to stay unchanged at 4.9%.

“There has been some debate as to whether today’s number could shift the dial with respect to a March rate rise, but given recent volatility it’s safe to assume it probably won’t. Some might argue that a March rate hike remains on the table, but it isn’t really, especially since the ECB will probably ease monetary policy further next week. This would suggest that any Fed rate rise that might be on the table is more likely to stay there and gather dust.”

In corporate news, London Stock Exchange was little changed after posting a 31% increase in full year profit and reiterating the case for a merger with Deutsche Boerse.

Shares in WPP rose after it posted strong 2015 results, although it sounded a cautious note over the outlook for the advertising industry.

Dutch digital security firm Gemalto surged after its full-year profit beat analysts’ expectations.

French hotel group Accor rallied after a spokeswoman for the company said it was not in talks to buy Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.

On the downside, William Hill slid after UBS downgraded the stock to ‘sell’ from ‘buy’, pointing to an increasingly competitive backdrop.