European markets open to close as investors react to U.S. jobs data

Defensive sectors like healthcare and defense regions like Switzerland are good bets, the Credit Suisse wealth manager said.

Credit Suisse International Wealth Manager Nannette Hechler-Fayd’herbe discussed the markets on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday.

Scandinavian fiber optic firm Hexatronic led the gains in late morning trade, rising nearly 8% after announcing its acquisition of telecom company KNET.

Swedish investment firm Kinnevik remains Europe’s worst-performing stock after an analyst downgrade.

Energy companies have also fallen ahead of potentially disruptive Russian oil sanctions, and as OPEC considers further output cuts.

Pipe supplier Tenaris decreased by 2.5%, BP slipped 2.3% and Harbor Energy fell 2.1%.

— Jenny Reid

Parts of Credit Suisse rose 6% after chairman Axel Lehmann confirmed to Bloomberg that the bank intends to accelerate its cost-cutting program.

This follows a Reuters report indicating that Credit Suisse may be looking at cutting more jobs than previously announced, citing anonymous sources.

The bank previously said it wanted to reduce its cost base by 15%, or 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.67 billion), to about 14.5 billion Swiss francs. in 2025.

Lehmann said it would look to “front-load” the implementation of cost savings, which comes amid a major strategic overhaul. The bank has been involved in a series of scandals and in November reported a 1.5 billion Swiss franc fourth quarter loss.

German exports fell 0.6% month on month in October, double what analysts polled by Reuters had expected.

However, the country’s trade surplus widened while imports fell by 3.7%, more than the expected 0.4% decline.

German officials say exports are likely to fall 2% next year thanks to slowing global growth, low business sentiment, and the ongoing challenges of inflation and supply chain hold-ups.

The country is widely predicted to be headed for a recession, although new data showing its economy grew 0.4% quarter on quarter and 1.3% year-on-year suggests it will be shallow.

— Jenny Reid

Just eat was the top performer among generally underweight European stocks in early trade, gaining 3.7% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock from underweight to neutral.

A week ago, the company announced plans to reorganize operations, which could lead to around 170 job cuts.

Meanwhile, the Swedish investment company Kinnevik shed 5.5% after being downgraded by Norwegian financial services group DNB, according to local media.

— Jenny Reid

European markets headed for a lower open Friday, as investors eyed an EU-led cap on Russian oil prices and non-farm payrolls data from the US

The UK FTSE 100 index is expected to open 11 points lower at 7,547, Germany’s DAX is seen down 15 points at 14,448, France’s CAC is expected to open 15 points lower at 6,728 and Italy’s FTSE MIB is also seen fell 98 points to 24,609, according to data from IG.

Data releases include German import and export data, producer prices for the euro zone and US nonfarm payrolls, the latter due at 1.30 pm London time.

— Katrina Bishop

BlackRock’s ETF division says the investment environment is changing fundamentally, with “profound implications” for forward-looking portfolios.

In its 2023 investor guide, Blackrock’s iShares, one of the world’s largest providers of exchange-traded-funds, said the shift brought with it “profound implications for portfolio construction.”

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Citi says investors shouldn’t stop growing entirely by pivoting to a defensive portfolio of stocks ahead of a potential recession.

The investment bank named six global stocks that offer “low risk, quality and growth” combined.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao