Europe shares dip lower

European shares dipped in early trade on Thursday, as investors stayed cautious ahead of rate decisions by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England and Friday’s crucial U.S. jobs data.

At 3:15 a.m. ET, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.1 percent at 1,069.93 points after ending flat in the previous session.

“Corporate earnings will keep helping the market for some more time, but if macro-economic numbers are going to take over, then good earnings will not be enough to support the market,” said Koen De Leus, economist at KBC Securities.

“Nervousness is now about the U.S. jobs data as expectations of the markets are really linked to these numbers. If they are better than expected, then concerns of a double dip will fade very fast. If that’s not happening, then we might see a correction.”

Commerzbank rose 0.8 percent after the bank hiked its outlook after clearly beating expectations with its second-quarter results. But British bank Barclays fell 2.1 percent after results.
Source: Reuters