LONDON: Europe's main stock markets closed mixed on Friday as investors digested the ECB's surprise deflation-fighting stimulus measures and figures showed US unemployment dropped less than hoped, dealers said.
Investors were also anxiously tracking talks aimed at sealing a ceasefire in Ukraine, after almost five months of conflict.
In Paris, the CAC 40 closed 0.19 percent lower at 4,486.49 points. Frankfurt's main DAX index gained 0.23 percent to 9,747.02 points, while London's benchmark FTSE 100 slid by 0.33 percent to 6,855.10 points.
"Momentum has ground to a halt in the FTSE following the ECB's statements yesterday, as traders have a distinct 'what now' mentality," said IG analyst Alastair McCaig.
The mood was also soured by official data confirming that the 18-nation eurozone economy stagnated in the second quarter, with zero growth.
Euro recovers:
The ECB cut its key interest rate to a record-low of 0.05 percent on Thursday, from 0.15 percent, and announced an asset-purchase plan to counter deflation pressures, boost lending and lift sluggish growth.
ECB President Mario Draghi stopped short of so-called quantitative easing (QE) when central banks buy securities on a big scale to inject cash into the economy but said the radical policy had been discussed.
The news pushed the euro down sharply and boosted European and US stocks on Thursday.
In foreign exchange activity, the European single currency recovered to $1.2961, up from $1.2945 late in New York the previous day.
The euro had slumped to a 14-month low of $1.2920 after the ECB move.
The dollar jumped to its highest level against the Japanese currency since the financial crisis, hitting 105.71 yen last seen in early October 2008 before pulling back to 104.93 yen.
"The euro has slightly rebounded, however this has only regained a fraction of the losses seen yesterday where the currency dramatically tumbled off the back of an unexpected interest rate cut by the ECB," said Spreadex analyst Sam Fox.
Concern is growing that the European economy, after making it through the sovereign debt crisis and the prospect of the collapse of the single currency, may now be poised for years of stagnation or low growth.
"The measures have had the intended effect to push the euro lower," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
"Without significant structural reform at the same time... they merely defer the hard decisions and make the prospect of difficult discussions about full-blown QE that much more likely."
Eyes on US data:
Adding to the dollar's strength is an expectation the Federal Reserve will bring forward an interest rate rise as the US economy picks up pace.
On Friday the US Labor Department said unemployment had decreased by only 142,000 to 6.1 percent in August compared with the previous month.
Analysts had expected more than 200,000 new jobs, to maintain a six-month streak over that benchmark. This would have demonstrated consistent strength in the US economy.
Markets on Wall Street opened down but had regained some ground by midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen 0.15 percent to 17,095.20 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 was up 0.07 percent to 1,999.00, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.05 percent at 4,560.05.
In corporate news, shares in BP closed up 2.59 percent boosted by news of a ceasefire between Kiev and separatist fighters in the east of Ukraine. BP owns 20 percent of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft.
The oil giant's stock tumbled yesterday after a US judge ruled it acted with "gross negligence" ahead of the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
In London currency deals, the single currency rose to 79.43 pence from 79.23 pence late on Thursday, while the pound dipped to $1.6308 from $1.6337.
The price of gold rebounded to $1,266 per ounce after falling to $1,257.39 the lowest level in almost three months down from $1,271.50 on Thursday on the London Bullion Market.
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