In Paris, the CAC 40 ended the session down 1.09% at 8,112.57 points, pushing its weekly performance into negative territory at -0.03%. This marks the third consecutive week of decline for the Parisian benchmark.

In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 retreated by 1.44%, while London's FTSE 100 lost 0.48%. In the United States, at 5:30 p.m. CET, following previous declines, the main indices were trading in positive territory; the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 posted gains ranging between 0.70% and 1.25%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones remained virtually flat.

In Europe, investors were initially unsettled by the situation in the Middle East following exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran, and the seizure of an oil tanker by the Islamic Republic. These developments have fueled fears of renewed tensions that could undermine the ceasefire.
However, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during a visit to Rome, referring to Iran: 'We are expecting a response from them later today... I sincerely hope it will be a serious offer'.

This statement, however, failed to resonate across European markets, as did the robust U.S. monthly employment figures.

According to the Department of Labor's monthly employment report, the U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs last month, far exceeding the 62,000 expected. This nevertheless represents a decline of 20,000 units compared to March, when job creation reached 185,000, a figure revised upward from 178,000. Concurrently, average hourly earnings rose by 0.2%, slightly below the 0.3% increase anticipated by analysts. The unemployment rate remained stable, as projected, at 4.3%, with a total of 7.4 million people unemployed.

Another indicator released today in the U.S. was the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index. The preliminary May data came in at 48.2 points, whereas analysts had expected a much smaller decline from 49.8 to 49.7 points.

Currencies, Oil, and Microeconomics

On the foreign exchange market, at 5:30 p.m. CET, the euro was gaining ground against the greenback (+0.35%), trading at 1.1771 dollars.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices were trending lower at the close of European markets. WTI in New York lost 1.47% to 95.52 dollars, and North Sea Brent shed 1.53% to 101.71 dollars.

On the corporate front, Stellantis delivered the best performance on the CAC 40 with a gain of 1.84%. The multi-brand automaker announced its intention to strengthen its partnership with Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology.

Conversely, Airbus fell by 1.94%. The European aircraft manufacturer nonetheless reported the delivery of 67 aircraft in April, a 20% increase year-on-year. However, analysts at Jefferies remained cautious on the stock, maintaining a 'hold' rating with a price target of 185 euros.

Soitec's rally continued, with the stock posting the largest gain on the SBF 120 (+13.67%). The shares were bolstered by a positive note from Nomura, which resumed coverage with a 'buy' rating and a price target of 250 euros. Since January 1, the stock has posted an impressive gain of nearly 639%.

In Europe, Enel (-0.26%) disclosed first-quarter earnings per share of 0.20 euros, up 6.2% year-on-year, alongside a 3.6% increase in ordinary EBITDA.

German chemical group Evonik ended the day up 1.41%, supported by quarterly results that generally exceeded expectations despite a challenging economic and commercial environment.

Finally, Commerzbank dropped 4.10%, even though the financial institution saw its net profit rise by 9.4% to 913 million euros over the first three months of the year.