European shares seen extending falls

5. February. 2010
Reuters

European shares were seen extending the previous session's sharp losses on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, as weakness on Wall Street and jitters ahead of a U.S. jobs report weighed on risk appetite.

Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE was seen opening 0.3 percent lower, Germany's DAX .GDAXI was expected to open as much as 0.3 percent lower, while France's CAC 40 .FCHI was seen opening up to 0.2 percent lower.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index on top European shares fell 2.8 percent on Thursday, its lowest close since Nov. 30 and its biggest one-day percentage fall in 10 weeks as worries over euro zone peripheral countries shook investors' confidence.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI briefly fell below the crucial 10,000 mark as stocks suffered their worst losses in more than nine months.

Later in the session investors will eye U.S. non farm payrolls data at 1330 GMT for signs of an improvement in the country's jobless rate.