GLOBAL MARKETS-European shares, dollar, oil dip ahead of payrolls
* European bourses dip, Wall Street expected to open lower
* Dec U.S. non-farm payrolls seen showing addition of
240,000 jobs
* Euro inches off 9-year lows against the dollar
* Oil begins to slide again
By Marc Jones
LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - More weak data from Europe ensured
shares worldwide were set to end their first full week of 2015
in the red on Friday, while both the dollar and oil prices
dipped as investors waited for monthly U.S. jobs data.
Friday's jobs report is expected to show that non-farm
payrolls increased by 240,000 in December. That would mark the
11th consecutive month of job gains above 200,000, the longest
stretch since 1994.
A deluge of U.S. data this week has already bolstered
expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates for
the first time in almost a decade around the middle of the year
and has sent the dollar surging to a nine-year high.
"At the moment the U.S. is the only party on the street,"
said Kully Samra at Charles Schwab in London. "Where else are
you going to go for growth."
Europe though continues to paint a much bleaker picture.
German exports fell sharply and industrial output declined in
November new figures showed, as industrial production also fell
in France and an equivalent reading in Spain was revised down.
The region's shares extended early falls to be down 0.7
percent, with the euro zone's biggest bank, Spain's
Santander, plunging 11 percent after it announced a 7.5
billion euro ($8.8 billion) capital increase and dividend cut.
Wall Street was also expected to open in the red
after gains of roughly 3 percent in the last two days,
while as the dollar paused in the currency market the euro was
buying just over $1.1810, after a fourth week of falls.
Equities worldwide suffered deep losses early this week as
plunging oil prices and global growth woes triggered investor
flight from risk assets. But optimism about the U.S. economy and
prospects of more stimulus from the European Central Bank and
China have diffused risk aversion for the time being.
MSCI (NYSE: MSCI - news) 's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
eked out a 0.7 percent rise overnight but had
faded late on as Chinese shares , last year's
global star performers, gave up gains.
"With worries over the Chinese economy slowing down and
risks from Greece still in place, further evidence of continuing
recovery in the U.S. economy will be needed if risk appetite is
to recover fully," said Junichi Ishikawa, market analyst at IG
Securities.
OIL PRESSURE
A strong non-farm payrolls reading would strengthen
prospects of the Federal Reserve hiking rates later this year
and again highlight the contrast in policies between the ECB,
now facing euro zone deflation and seen on the brink of adopting
quantitative easing.
News agency Bloomberg reported that ECB staff have drawn up
a 500 billion euro plan to buy investment grade bonds.
But as that excludes Greece, the bloc's main problem
country, and with the impact likely to be eroded by the 200
billion euros of old ECB crisis loans that banks need to repay
next month, markets were unmoved.
Euro zone government bond yields held just above record lows
ahead of the U.S. data. About a quarter of the whole euro zone
bond market is now yielding less than 10 basis points.
The dollar, which hit a fresh nine-year high on Thursday,
was down 0.2 percent against the euro at just over $1.1810
. It was also lower against the Japanese yen at 119.29 yen
. Nevertheless against a basket of major currencies it was
still set for what will be its fourth straight week of gains.
Like in the euro zone, the grip of falling prices is now
becoming evident even in China. Data on Friday showed inflation
in the world's second-largest economy hovered close to a
five-year low. That could give policymakers more room to cut
rates.
Providing another source of nervousness for still wary
global markets, crude oil prices were on the back foot again
after a 10 percent loss earlier in the week.
U.S. crude oil fell 20 cents to $48.60 a barrel after
plumbing a 5-1/2-year low of $46.83 on Wednesday. Brent
slipped to $50.38. Both have fallen for all but one of the last
15 weeks.
"Without any changes to fundamentals, selling appears
largely to be jittery investors looking for supply-demand
equilibrium," ANZ analysts said in a note.
Russia's rouble also weakened on the drop in oil
prices and Moscow's still tense relations with the West, and
shares in Moscow retreated.
Emerging market stocks overall were heading for a fourth
week of gains, however, thanks to China, Thailand and Brazil.
(Editing by Toby Chopra and Susan Fenton)