European markets close lower in lackluster short trading week; Ocado down over 8%

European stocks tumbled Friday, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 index shedding 0.88% with all sectors in the red.

Germany’s DAX dropped 1.3%, while France’s CAC 40 was 1.1% lower and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.8%.

The March nonfarm payrolls came in stronger than expected Friday morning, which is another sign of a resilient U.S. labor market.

The U.S. economy added 303,000 jobs last month, topping the 200,000 expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate was 3.8%.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in March, and are up 4.1% over the past year. The average workweek ticked up to 34.4 hours.

— Jesse Pound

Shares of Ocado sunk more than 8% in afternoon deals, after the British online grocery retailer announced that its chairman Rick Haythornthwaite would step down next year due to his increased commitments as group chair of NatWest bank.

The stock was down 8.3% by 1:55 p.m. London time.

— Karen Gilchrist

Euro zone retail sales slipped 0.5% in February, new preliminary data showed Friday.

The dip, which was in line in economists’ expectations, marks the third straight month sales have failed to increase, pouring cold water on hopes of a consumer-led recovery.

Meanwhile, euro zone construction fell in March on the back of subdued demand.

— Karen Gilchrist

Shares of Delivery Hero fell 3.4% in morning trade on Reuters reports that activist investor Sachem Head built a 3.6% stake in the German delivery business and may be seeking to oust CEO Niklas Oestberg.

On the other end, Finnish oil refining company Neste was up 2.6% as its Porvoo refinery undergoes a maintenance update.

— Karen Gilchrist

U.K. house prices fell 1% in March, following five months of consecutive gains, new data from mortgage lender Halifax showed Friday.

Compared with a year earlier, prices rose 0.3%, down on the 1.6% annual increase recorded in February.

Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, said the decline was unsurprising given that the path for interest rate cuts remains uncertain.

“Financial markets have also become less optimistic about the degree and timing of Base Rate cuts, as core inflation proves stickier than generally expected. This has stalled the decline in mortgage rates that had helped to drive market activity around the turn of the year,” she said.

— Karen Gilchrist

Analysts have become more bullish on six stocks from around the world this week, raising their price targets.

The price target changes come ahead of the next earnings season covering the first quarter of this year.

CNBC Pro screened for global stocks that have received price target upgrades from five or more analysts in the past seven days and have a potential upside of over 25%.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the six stocks here.

— Ganesh Rao

Portfolio manager Barbara Doran has revealed a number of her favorite stocks, reiterating a bullish outlook on the stock market more broadly.

“People are reluctant to embrace this bull market after a couple of years of deep skepticism. But this is what bull markets do. They make new highs,” she told CNBC.

Her top picks include top-performer Nvidia, embattled aerospace giant Boeing and more.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

European markets are set for a mixed open on Friday.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 38 points higher at 7,975, Germany’s DAX up 35 points at 18,403, France’s CAC 2 points lower at 8,151 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 26 points at 34,454, according to data from IG. 

Investors will be keeping an eye out for fresh data on euro zone retail sales and construction, as well as U.K. home sales.

— Karen Gilchrist