Europe positive as US jobs data beats expectations

European stocks posted their biggest two-day advance in more than three weeks as U.S. jobs data beat expectations.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 1.1 percent to 341.38 at the close of trading, trimming its weekly loss to 0.2 percent. A report from the U.S. Labor Department showed payrolls climbed by 255,000 last month, exceeding all forecasts, signaling that the world’s biggest economy is strengthening.

Stocks rebounded on Thursday after the Bank of England unveiled fresh stimulus measures to help the economy cope with the repercussions of the Brexit vote. Optimism that central banks will do what’s needed to protect economic growth and contain the fallout from the U.K’s decision has sparked a tentative return of bullish sentiment, albeit amid low-volume trading.

European banks have pushed back profitability targets so many times, the dates are now more placeholders than deadlines. Eight years after the financial crisis hit its peak, several of the region’s lenders said they’ll probably need more time to reach the return on equity goals they set for the next few years. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc on Friday became the latest to do so, blaming the impact of lower-for-longer interest rates and depressed customer activity after the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union.

The Stoxx 600 gauge has lost 8.3 percent this year and remains lower than its level from before the U.K. referendum on European Union membership, while U.S. and Asian equities have already recovered.

In recent weeks, though, economic data have been beating forecasts. On Wednesday, euroarea output unexpectedly accelerated to the highest in six months, signaling that manufacturers and services providers are shrugging off Brexit worries.

Emerging-market stocks and currencies rose to the highest levels in a year as a recovery in oil prices and optimism that central banks will keep monetary policy accommodative boosted demand for higher-yielding assets.