(MENAFN- AFP) European stocks gave up early gains and Wall Street fell Friday after a US jobs report sent conflicting signals about the economy and revived jitters about global growth.
Shares in London, Frankfurt and Paris were only marginally higher after data showed US hiring slowed last month but that the jobless rate fell to an eight-year low.
At around 1445 GMT, Germany's Dax led the main European bourses, up 0.54 percent, just slighly ahead of France's CAC and the FTSE in London.
Wall Street stocks opened lower, down 0.16 percent, as some investors eyed support in the American jobs data for another interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.
Growing fears that global economic turmoil is seeping into the United States kept pressure on the dollar.
"The lead up to the non-farm payrolls report has seen the dollar nosedive in what could be its worst weekly decline since 2011," noted analyst Jasper Lawler at traders CMC Markets.
After a tumultuous start to the year fuelled by a slowdown from Asia to South America, the focus has turned to the US, the world's biggest economy and key driver of world growth.
The US has enjoyed reasonable results for the past few years in the face of a worldwide malaise, but a string of weak data out of Washington recently has led to speculation it is now in the firing line.
On Thursday, figures showed orders for manufactured goods fell again in December and jobless claims rose last week. That came after data pointed to a slowdown in factory activity, easing economic growth, a drop in consumer spending and weakness in the crucial services sector.
And Friday's jobs data was mixed, showing a downshift pace of hiring offering fresh evidence of the US economy hitting a soft patch.
However unemployment fell to 4.9 percent and wages rose, which if sustained, would support another rate hike.
Oanda analyst Alfonso Esparza said the latest jobs data indicated the Fed would hold fire.
"Macroeconomic conditions have shifted radically from December when the Fed announced its historic first rate hike in a decade," he said in a note.
"The follow up to that policy decision will not come in March if US fundamentals continue to slowdown."
The dollar has taken a hit this week, sinking well below 117 yen, from above 121 yen at the end of last week when the Bank of Japan said it would adopt a negative interest rate policy.
The euro has also rallied against the US unit, while the weakened greenback has provided some support to oil prices as it makes the commodity cheaper for buyers not using dollars to make transactions.
- Key figures around 1445GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.38 percent at 5,921.14
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.54 percent at 9,444.17
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.40 percent at 4,245.44
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.33 percent at 2,914.85
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.3 percent at 16,819.59 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.16 percent at 16,391.04
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1155 from $1.1215 on Thursday
Dollar/yen: UP at 117.04 yen from 116.74 yen
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