Sept 4 (Reuters) – European shares ticked lower on Friday ahead of closely watched U.S. jobs data, while Volkswagen’s shares rallied after the automaker announced a major transformation plan that includes 50,000 job cuts.
The pan-European STOXX 600 dipped 0.1% to 648.67 points by 0710 GMT. Germany’s DAX was up 0.1%, London’s FTSE dipped 0.1% and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.2%.
Shares of Volkswagen jumped 6% after the supervisory board of Europe’s largest automaker struck a turnaround agreement that averted an escalation with unions and shareholder Lower Saxony. The broader European autos index jumped 1.1%.
Investors awaited the August U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for fresh clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy path.
The latest escalation in the Middle East conflict has pushed oil prices higher, raising fears of renewed inflationary pressures and triggering a selloff across global equity and bond markets in recent weeks.
Oil prices rose on Friday, heading for their steepest weekly gain since mid-July, with Brent crude trading at around $96 per barrel. [O/R]
Economically sensitive chemical and banking sectors fell almost 1% each, weighing on the main European stocks index.
(Reporting by Sudeshna Ghoshal in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
