Merz to meet frontrunners for Lagarde job as ECB race heats up - Bloomberg By Investing.com

• European stocks rebounded on Friday following a previous sell-off driven by bond market volatility. • Oil prices dropped 2 per cent after a sharp rise the previous day.

• Major European stock indices generally rose on October 2, led by gains in Germany and the UK. • The German DAX30 index closed at 25,241.14 points, marking an increase of 301.79 points or 1.21% according to Gate market data.

• A soft September jobs report caused stock markets to rise as investors reacted to slower employment growth. • Average hourly earnings decreased slightly, which Brian Jacobsen of Annex Wealth Management suggests helps relieve short-term inflation concerns.

• Wall Street stocks opened higher on Friday following the release of softer payrolls data and a decline in Treasury yields. • Lower yields and employment figures lifted investor sentiment during the morning trading session.

• Oil prices decreased recently as traders balanced geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran against a recovery in global supply. • Shares of Seagate and Western Digital fell following news that Toshiba is expanding its hard disk drive production.

• Group of Seven countries agreed to release tens of millions of barrels of diesel fuel and crude oil to lower rising gas prices. • This action follows a previous release of 400 million barrels in March intended to stabilize global energy costs.

• European stock markets closed higher on Friday, October 2. • The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.7% to 630.95 points, while Germany's DAX index gained 1.12% to 25,222.06 points.

• US stocks rose on Friday after weak jobs data lowered expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its upcoming policy meeting. • The Dutch eyewear chain Hans Anders suspended sales of Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses in the Netherlands and Belgium due to privacy concerns.

• European Union house prices rose 4.7% year-on-year during the second quarter of 2026. • Portugal, Bulgaria, and Spain recorded double-digit price gains, while prices decreased in Finland, Luxembourg, and France.

• European Central Bank Vice President Boris Vujcic recently called for the simplification of banking regulations across Europe rather than a reduction in capital requirements. • Vujcic argued that maintaining robust capital requirements—the amount of liquid assets banks must hold to ensure stability—is essential for supporting long-term economic growth.

• France unveiled a €43 billion austerity package on October 1 to address its rising national debt. • The OAT/Bund spread, which measures the difference in yield between French and German government bonds, surpassed 130 basis points as debt reached 121.7% of GDP.