Europe stocks close up on the week
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Investors are keeping a close eye on U.S. indicators.
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LONDON, England (Reuters) -- European shares skidded on Friday, winded by unexpectedly weak U.S. jobs numbers and poorly received sales guidance from chip leader Intel, but markets still closed up on the week after touching fresh 2003 highs.
French chemical group Rhodia, UK property firm Canary Wharf and Finnish paper groups rose, but technology was hit hard as chip-related shares sank. An advance in heavyweight oils and Wall Street recouping some of its opening drop also limited European stock-market losses.
With little in the way of corporate news scheduled for next week, investors are hunkering down for the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting on Tuesday to discuss interest rates.
Friday's weaker-than-expected jobs figure is likely to keep the central bank from signalling a shift in stance towards possible higher rates, despite the economy growing at its fastest pace in nearly 20 years.
"I can't see what will change regarding the Fed. It will not change rates and its statement will be quite benign," said Michael O'Sullivan, a strategist at State Street Global Advisers.
European shares were unnerved at times this week as the dollar plunged to record lows against the euro, and O'Sullivan said if the greenback eases below $1.22, it could set in train an extended sharp slide.
The FTSE Eurotop 300 index ended off 0.7 percent at 937 points, its second down day in a row, with three shares falling for each one rising, in steady volume.
The benchmark hit its best level for 2003 on Tuesday after a string of solid U.S. economic numbers and reassuring corporate results, broken by Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls numbers.
Some 57,000 new jobs were created in the United States in November, well below the 150,000 increase that economists had expected. It cast doubt on the recovery's ability to create jobs at a fast enough pace to keep consumers spending.
However, U.S. unemployment eased to 5.9 percent in November, the lowest level since March, from six percent in October.
"The headline rate is disappointing, but underlying that the jobs market is a bit more robust, as unemployment came down a bit," said Richard Reid, an economist at Citigroup.
"By and large, it would be advisable not to read too much into these figures."
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index shed 0.8 percent to 2,672 points.
Intel also dampened hopes of a strong recovery in technology by failing to raise the top of its fourth-quarter sales forecast.
"What we have seen for the past couple of weeks is institutions have been selling tech, and that comes to bear with Intel today," O'Sullivan said.
"However, we have not seen any decisive shift to defensives. There is still some appetite for risk," he added.
European chip-related shares eased on Intel's news, with Philips Electronics down three percent at 24 euros, while Infineon dropped 2.5 percent to 11.7 euros. STMicroelectronics shed 2.4 percent to 23 euros.
Shares in indebted French specialty chemicals maker Rhodia rose 1.6 percent to 4.3 euros as hopes mounted its asset-sale plan was moving into a higher gear.
Meanwhile, Britain's Canary Wharf gained eight percent to 269-1/2 pence after the property firm's founder Paul Reichmann said he expected to trump a $2.67-billion takeover offer led by Morgan Stanley investment bank.
Danish wind turbine makers Vestas and NEG Micon fell sharply on fears that Germany would pass a proposed energy bill that would rule out wind development.
But on a brighter note, Finnish paper and forestry firms, Stora Enso and UPM Kymmene each rose about one percent after UBS investment bank raised its rating on both firms to "buy," helping to ensure that basic producers made up one of only two industry groups which traded higher.
As European bourses shut, the Dow Jones industrial average was off 0.2 percent at 9,911 points, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.66 percent to 1,955 points.
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