By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European shares fell Friday, with
investors cautious ahead of the release of key U.S. jobs data, and
as uncertainty about Greece's debt situation lingers.
The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.2% to 371.53, in broad-based losses
that included a pullback for shares of consumer goods, miners and
industrial firms.
Tate & Lyle PLC was at the bottom of the benchmark index,
with its shares sliding 13% after the ingredients maker said it
expects full-year profit to come in below its previous forecast.
Weak performance in its bulk-ingredients unit in the third quarter
is likely to run through the fourth quarter, it said.
European investors were on watch for January jobs figures from
the U.S., concerned about global growth as well as the outlook for
U.S. interest rates. Economists expect the addition of 230,000
jobs, but investors are still looking for evidence that wages are
ready to rise after years of sluggish growth. The report is due at
8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, or 1:30 p.m. London time.
On Friday, Germany engineering heavyweight Siemens AG said it
will cut about 7,800 jobs worldwide as part of a restructuring
program announced last year. The cuts will include 3,300 in
Germany, which is considered the powerhouse of the European
economy. Siemens shares were off 1.4% in Frankfurt.
The decline helped pulled Germany's DAX lower by 0.9% to
10,807.26. But shares of Fresenius SE were the worst performers on
the index, losing 2.8% after Jefferies cut its rating on the
health-care group to hold from buy.
Greece's Athex Composite was down 0.7% to 813.94, following a
whirlwind week of meetings by Greek officials as they laid the
groundwork for debt-renegotiation talks with international
creditors. The index fell more than 3% on Thursday after the
European Central Bank restricted liquidity to Greek banks. On
Friday, National Bank of Greece shares were down 6%.
But the Athens benchmark was still on track for a 13% weekly
advance, largely because of Tuesday's jump of 11% after Greece's
finance minister indicated the country won't ask the eurozone for a
debt haircut.
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