Today's session was once again marked by a flurry of corporate earnings across the Old Continent.

In Paris, Dassault Systèmes plummeted 20.81%, finishing as the CAC 40's worst performer. Already under pressure from concerns about the impact of the AI revolution on software publishers, the group's stock plunged following results and outlook that fell short of expectations.

Within the Paris benchmark index, TotalEnergies (+2.74%) bucked the trend, rising on the back of its generous shareholder payout policy, despite a backdrop of falling energy prices. A dividend of €3.40 per share for the 2025 fiscal year will be distributed, representing a 5.6% increase.

Heineken (+4.21%) was among the top gainers on the AEX 25. The Dutch brewing group reported full-year 2025 results that beat expectations. However, it also issued what were seen as cautious forecasts for 2026, a move that did not appear to unsettle the market, which is used to the Dutch brewer setting reasonable targets only to exceed them later.

Siemens Energy (+8.4%) led the DAX thanks to strong first-quarter results for its 2025/2026 fiscal year. The German multinational, specialized in power plant manufacturing, generated net income of €1 billion during the period, compared to €463 million the previous year.

US Employment: Encouraging Figures in January

On the data front, January's US employment report was highly anticipated. The American economy created 130,000 nonfarm jobs in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a figure well above economists' average expectations of just 70,000.

The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 points to 4.3% last month, while consensus had forecast it to remain stable at 4.4%. The labor force participation rate came in at 62.5%, and average hourly earnings rose 3.7% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, nonfarm payroll gains for November and December 2025 were revised downward, from 56,000 to 41,000 and from 50,000 to 48,000 respectively, for a negative net revision of 17,000 over the two months.

"The strong US employment data for January gives the Federal Reserve some reason to pause further rate cuts. However, job creation was heavily concentrated in sectors such as health care, social assistance, and construction, while 2025 figures were sharply revised down, from 584,000 to just 181,000. With inflation still above target, we continue to expect two quarter-point rate cuts in the second half of the year," commented Eiko Sievert, Executive Director, Sovereign and Public Sector at Scope Ratings.

For his part, Jeff Schulze, Head of Economic and Market Strategy at ClearBridge Investments (a Franklin Templeton subsidiary), noted that "this jobs report shows a clear rebound in the labor market, which has regained its balance after the weaknesses seen in the second half of last year. The data are solid across the board, with another drop in the unemployment rate to 4.3% and the strongest private sector job growth since the end of 2024," he continued.

He added that "this report bodes well for the health of the American consumer, with accelerating wage growth and a rising labor force participation rate. Aggregate weekly payrolls, a good indicator of income growth across the economy and closely tied to consumption, increased by nearly 5% year-on-year."

This report also offsets a series of employment data published last week. The JOLTS survey showed that the number of job openings fell to its lowest level since 2020, while layoffs reached their highest level for a January since 2009, according to the Challenger survey.

After the close, investors will review EssilorLuxottica's 2025 full-year results. Tomorrow, earnings releases continue with Hermès, L'Oréal, Siemens, and Unilever.