World stocks mostly drop

Trading flattens as U.S. markets close for Fourth

World stock markets fell slightly in Europe on Friday after gains in Asia, with trading somewhat subdued by a long holiday weekend in the U.S.

With Wall Street remaining closed in observance of Independence Day, Germany’s DAX edged 0.6% lower to 12,528.18. The CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.8% to 5,007.14, while Britain’s FTSE closed down 1.3% at 6,157.30.

Markets had risen earlier in Asia as investors there got their first opportunity to react to the strongerthan-expected U.S. jobs figures released on Thursday.

The jobs data and improved global indicators boosted sentiment, albeit momentarily, along with positive reports on potential vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus that has infected more than 10.8 million people and killed over 520,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University that experts say understates the tally due to issues with testing and asymptomatic cases.

The U.S. government said employers added 4.8 million jobs to their payrolls in June for the secondstraight month of growth. The unemployment rate remains very high at 11.1%, but last month’s improvement was much better than economists expected.

The pandemic makes collecting data on the economy unusually difficult, but economists say it’s clear that the job market is improving after collapsing in the spring amid widespread shutdowns.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index picked up 0.7% to 22,306.48, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 62.24 points to 3,152.81, its highest close since April 2019. In South