Weak US jobs figures hit stocks (AP)

LONDON – Much weaker than expected U.S. job figures sent stocks tumbling Friday as investors worried that the American economic recovery was grinding to a halt.

The Department of Labor's statistics came in below even the most conservative estimates and lower than May's fairly dismal numbers. The U.S. economy added just 18,000 jobs in June, way below market expectations of at least 125,000. The weakness was particularly surprising after a buoyant report from the ADP private payrolls firm earlier this week.

There was even more disappointment with the news that the May increase was more than halved to 25,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent from 9.1 percent.

"With U.S. employers adding fewer new jobs in June than median forecasts had expected it was hardly surprising that U.S. and European stock markets would record anything other than sharp falls," said Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Partners.

The health of the U.S. labor market is crucial for the global economy and Friday's announcement has reinforced recent fears that the recovery is running out of steam.

Those fears hit stocks and the dollar hard.

In Europe, France's CAC-40 slid 1.1 percent to 3,935, and Germany's DAX fell 0.5 percent to 7,432. The FTSE index of leading British shares lost 0.7 percent to 6,013.

Wall Street opened down sharply on the news after solid gains the previous day. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.9 percent to 12,612 while the broader S&P 500 index fell 1 percent to 1,340.

Following the news, the euro recouped some of its earlier losses against the dollars as investors fretted about the state of the U.S. economy and reassessed expectations of how long the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at record low levels.

"The continuation of the economic soft-patch will cause the Federal Reserve to delay its exit strategy," said Sung Won Sohn of California State University.

The currency used by the 17-nation eurozone was down 0.3 percent to $1.4322 by early afternoon.

Earlier, Asian stocks rode expectations that the U.S. would unveil figures that would show its economy was growing. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.7 percent to close at 10,138, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 0.9 percent to 22,726.

Mainland Chinese shares were more cautious. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1 percent to 2,797.77, while the Shenzhen Composite Index was virtually flat at 1,201.50.

Benchmark oil for August delivery erased almost all of its gains the previous day, falling $1.52 to $97.15 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

European stocks, euro rebound on Greece progress (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – European stocks rebounded and the euro recovered against the dollar on Friday as investors cheered a breakthrough in the eurozone's bid to resolve Greece's debt crisis, analysts said.

World markets had slumped on Thursday as weak US and Chinese data dented confidence in the global economic outlook and as Greece's problems dragged on.

However they swiftly recovered on Friday after Greece, the EU and the IMF agreed on the final details of a 28-billion-euro ($40-billion) savings plan which Athens must implement over five years to obtain cash to pay its immediate debts.

In late morning deals, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top shares jumped 1.27 percent to 5,746.33 points. Frankfurt's DAX 30 climbed 1.12 percent to 7,229.37 points and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 0.46 percent to 3,805.30.

The euro climbed to $1.4293 from $1.4257 late on Thursday in New York. The dollar fell to 80.16 yen from 80.52 yen.

Oil prices meanwhile steadied after plunging one day earlier when the International Energy Agency decided to tap emergency crude reserves to make up for lost Libyan supplies.

But in Italy, leading bank shares slumped up to 8.0 percent.

Markets recovered on Friday "after positive sentiment coming out of Europe as EU ministers say they will do 'anything it takes' in relation to Greece," said Spreadex trader Simon Furlong.

"However, we are not out of the woods yet. With disappointing jobs figures in the US, (Federal Reserve chairman) Ben Bernanke downgrading US growth output and a large opposition to austerity measures within Greece's parliament, the light at the end of the tunnel is very dim indeed."

The European Commission said the deal among international backers on the ground in Athens now has to be "translated into concrete legislative measures" by Greece. Prime Minister George Papandreou is hoping that parliament will next week approve his austerity measures.

Meanwhile worries about the global economy were stoked after the US Labor Department on Thursday reported an unexpected increase in initial jobless claims, by 9,000 to 429,000 in the week to June 18. Elsewhere, the Commerce Department said new-home sales fell 2.1 percent in May.

Ahead of the data, Bernanke had on Wednesday warned of economic headwinds that could persist for longer than expected.

US stocks ended mixed on Thursday after steep initial losses spurred by the series of gloomy economic reports from the United States, Europe and China.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei-225 index closed up 0.85 percent at 9,678.71 points on Friday.

"The financial markets have stabilised," noted Derek Halpenny, European head of currency research at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

"Concerns over a number of factors remained elevated however, and next week brings the crucial austerity votes that appear to require not just a win but a win that signifies some degree of unity in Greece in favour of the austerity program."