- Record-breaking Root helps England dominate Pakistan in first Test
- German govt sees economy shrinking again in 2024
- Ex-UK soldier denies passing secrets to Iran intelligence
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Three Kosovo Serbs on trial over 'secession plot' attack
- Van Gogh museum to launch Impressionism show
- French minister ups ante in Eiffel Tower Olympic rings row
- Japan PM calls snap election to 'create a new Japan'
- German police shut pro-Palestinian camp over Thunberg invite
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- SE Asian summit urges end to Myanmar violence but struggles for solutions
- Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic system
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England power to 351-3
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England's power to 351-3
- Sabalenka relishes 'much-needed' tennis rivalry with Swiatek
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson set for six weeks out
- Taylor Swift got police escort to London gigs after Austria terror plot
- Cook tips Root to break Tendulkar's all-time runs record
- British skull auction sparks Indian demand for return
- Joe Root: England's elegant Test record-breaker
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
- Trumpet star Marsalis says jazz creates 'balance' in divided world
- No children left on Greece's famed but emptying island
- Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks
- Climate change made deadly Hurricane Helene more intense: study
- A US climate scientist sees hurricane Helene's devastation firsthand
- Padres edge Dodgers, Mets on the brink
- Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
- With EU funding, Tunisian farmer revives parched village
- Sega ninja game 'Shinobi' gets movie treatment
- Boeing suspends negotiations with striking workers
- 7-Eleven owner's shares spike on report of new buyout offer
- Your 'local everything': what 7-Eleven buyout battle means for Japan
- Three million UK children living below poverty line: study
- China's Jia brings film spanning love, change over decades to Busan
- Paying out disaster relief before climate catastrophe strikes
European stock markets decline before US jobs report
Stock markets retreated and the dollar steadied Friday before US jobs data that could play a key role in the Federal Reserve's plans for cutting interest rates, with the central bank's next policy decision looming.
Europe's main stock markets slid nearing the half-way stage and following mixed showings in Asia and on Wall Street.
Europe was closing out the week with losses, one day after the European Central Bank cut interest rates for the first time since 2019 but warned that the path ahead was unclear as inflation will remain above its two-percent target next year.
"With the ECB joining Canada, Sweden and Switzerland in cutting rates and beginning the easing cycle in developed markets, speculation will now return to the timing of the first Federal Reserve cut, currently believed as most likely to happen in September," noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.
"Recent economic data, especially within the labour market, has shown signs of stalling, which adds particular significance to today's non-farm payrolls number."
A weak US jobs reading would put pressure on the Fed to cut rates this year, according to economists.
Bank officials have long-argued that a softening on the jobs front and lower inflation were their main tests when deciding on when to cut rates.
"We expect the overall message from the non-farm payrolls report to be one of strength, albeit ebbing," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia's Joseph Capurso.
"Consequently, market pricing for the... first rate cut in September may be pushed out."
The jobs reading will be followed by the Fed's next interest-rate decision Wednesday, which will be accompanied by its latest "dot plot" of expectations for borrowing costs.
Its previous guidance in March was for three cuts this year, but many are preparing for that to be whittled down to two at most in light of recent data showing inflation remains sticky and decision-makers' reluctance to move too early.
- Saudi shares deal -
Elsewhere Friday, Saudi oil giant Aramco said it would price its secondary stock offering at 27.25 Saudi riyals ($7.27) per share, in the lower end of its range, allowing it to raise $11.2 billion.
The mostly state-owned jewel of the Saudi economy announced last week it would sell 1.545 billion shares, or approximately 0.64 percent of its issued shares, on the Saudi stock exchange.
The move follows an initial public offering in December 2019 that raised $25.6 billion, the biggest flotation in history, and will offer a short-term boost to Saudi Arabia's finances as the Gulf kingdom builds large-scale projects including resorts and stadiums as part of ambitious economic reforms.
- Key figures around 1015 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 8,240.73 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,993.21
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 18,524.64
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.5 percent at 5,046.28
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 38,683.93 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 18,366.95 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,051.28 (close)
New York - Dow Jones: UP 0.2 percent at 38,886.17 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0893 from $1.0896 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2796 from $1.2794
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.51 yen from 155.59 yen
Euro/pound: UNCHANGED at 85.14 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $79.90 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $75.58 per barrel
Y.Aukaiv--AMWN