By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) ? European stock markets dropped slightly in choppy action on Friday, as investors awaited the latest news on recovery in the U.S. labor market, while a downbeat assessment on the German economy added pressure.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index /quotes/zigman/2380150 XX:SXXP -0.11% ?was marginally lower at 278.73, after rising to the highest level in 2012 on Thursday.
Europe's top stories in 2012
If the euro zone was a patient, it would have been in intensive care for most of the year. But despite debt woes and a series of banking scandals, Europe had much to cheer about. Take a look back at Europe's top stories of 2012. Photo: AP
Among notable movers in the index, shares of Deutsche Telekom AG /quotes/zigman/252274 DE:DTE -2.09% ?dropped 3.3%, after the firm late the prior day said it would cut dividends for next year to 0.5 euro ($0.65).
Shares of GDF Suez SA /quotes/zigman/383313 FR:GSZ -1.34% ?slumped 1.1% after HSBC cut the stock to underweight from neutral.
For the broader stock markets, investors waited for nonfarm-payrolls data from the U.S., due later in the day, to serve as the latest health check on the U.S. economic recovery. Job growth is expected to have slowed to 80,000 in November, while the unemployment rate is expected to have held steady at 7.9%. See: How to read the Sandy-impacted jobs report
Meanwhile, hopes that the European economy will soon recover were dashed on Friday, as the region?s powerhouse, Germany, downgraded growth forecasts for 2013.
The Bundesbank said it now expects gross domestic product to grow 0.7% this year, but growth will ease to 0.4% next year, down from its previous estimate of 1.6%. It also said that unemployment could edge up to 7.2% in 2013 from an expected 6.8% this year, before falling back to 7% in 2014. See: Some bad news about that German engine of growth
Germany?s Bundesbank says growth in the country will slump to 0.4% next year.The downbeat forecasts come just a day after the DAX 30 index /quotes/zigman/2380246 DX:DAX -0.16% ?surged to its highest closing level in almost five years on the back of surprisingly strong factory-order data.
The index inched 0.1% lower to 7,528.95 on Friday, with shares of Deutsche Bank AG /quotes/zigman/207036 DE:DBK -0.95% ? /quotes/zigman/207002/quotes/nls/db DB -1.26% ?down 0.5% and Commerzbank AG /quotes/zigman/144405 DE:CBK -0.99% ?off 0.6%.
Shares of Linde AG /quotes/zigman/147925 DE:LIN +0.41% , however, rose 0.9% after J.P. Morgan Cazenove initiated coverage of the chemicals firm with an overweight rating.
Italy?s FTSE MIB index /quotes/zigman/1482176 XX:FTSEMIB -1.03% ?underperformed its European peers, as questions about how long Prime Minister Mario Monti can last as the country?s front figure started to arise.
Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi?s People of Liberty Party on Thursday withdrew its support for Monti?s unelected technocratic government. See: Political risk rises as Italy?s Monti feels the heat
The index dropped 0.8% to 15,705.60, with shares of UniCredit SpA /quotes/zigman/7909864 IT:UCG -1.35% ?off 1.6%. Yields on 10-year Italian government bonds /quotes/zigman/4869096/delayed IT:10YR_ITA +0.06% ?rose 5 basis points to 4.60%, according to electronic trading platform Tradeweb.
And in the U.K. shares of oil group BP PLC /quotes/zigman/210014 UK:BP -0.51% ?fell 0.7%, tracking oil prices lower. The FTSE 100 index /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX -0.07% ?was off 0.1% at 5,897.38.
France?s CAC 40 index /quotes/zigman/3173214 FR:PX1 -0.19% ?rose 0.1% to 3,599.12.
Shares of Publicis Groupe SA /quotes/zigman/135209 FR:PUB +1.67% ?rose 1.6%, after the advertising group said it bought two different agencies in India as part of its strategy to develop in emerging markets. See: Publicis acquires two agencies in India
/quotes/zigman/2380150
XX : STOXX
Volume: 0.00
Dec. 7, 2012 1:05p
/quotes/zigman/252274 DE : Germany: Frankfurt
Volume: 327,043
Dec. 7, 2012 1:04p
Market Cap?37.26 billion
Rev. per Employee?294,843
/quotes/zigman/383313 FR : France: Paris
Volume: 4.63M
Dec. 7, 2012 12:10p
Market Cap?41.58 billion
Rev. per Employee?400,157
/quotes/zigman/2380246 DX : XETRA-ETF
Volume: 0.00
Dec. 7, 2012 1:05p
/quotes/zigman/207036 DE : Germany: Frankfurt
Volume: 17,384
Dec. 7, 2012 12:52p
Market Cap?32.49 billion
Rev. per Employee?494,148
/quotes/zigman/207002/quotes/nls/db US : U.S.: NYSE
Volume: 2.41M
Dec. 6, 2012 4:01p
Rev. per Employee$494,148
/quotes/zigman/144405 DE : Germany: Frankfurt
Volume: 202,892
Dec. 7, 2012 1:05p
Market Cap?8.20 billion
Rev. per Employee?438,471
/quotes/zigman/147925 DE : Germany: Frankfurt
Volume: 3,379
Dec. 7, 2012 12:11p
Market Cap?24.43 billion
Rev. per Employee?290,398
/quotes/zigman/1482176 XX : Italy: Milan
Volume: 0.00
Dec. 7, 2012 1:05p
/quotes/zigman/7909864 IT : Italy: Milan
Volume: 52.59M
Dec. 7, 2012 1:05p
Market Cap?21.63 billion
Rev. per Employee?257,593
/quotes/zigman/4869096/delayed IT : ICAP Sovereign Debt
Volume: 0.00
Dec. 7, 2012 7:05a
/quotes/zigman/210014 UK : U.K.: London
Volume: 4.51M
Dec. 7, 2012 12:05p
Market Cap?81.10 billion
/quotes/zigman/3173262 UK : FTSE Indices
Volume: 0.00
Dec. 7, 2012 12:05p
/quotes/zigman/3173214 FR : N Euxt CMI
Volume: 0.00
Dec. 7, 2012 1:05p
/quotes/zigman/135209 FR : France: Paris
Volume: 301,905
Dec. 7, 2012 12:09p
Market Cap?9.30 billion
Rev. per Employee?119,111
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.
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