European Markets Rise On Earnings, Economic Data

The major stock markets in Europe closed on a positive note on Friday as mostly encouraging earnings updates and decent economic data helped offset concerns about Middle East tensions. Also, weak U.S. jobs data raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will not hike interest rates anytime soon.

Data from the Labor Department showed U.S. non-farm payroll employment dropped by 23,000 jobs in July. The economy was expected to add 70,000 jobs in July.