UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

Euro sticking around $1.12

Stocks across Europe sought firm direction Friday, as investors waited for the high-profile monthly U.S. jobs report and faced the prospect of a losing week for European equities.

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.1% to 329.05, but has been darting in and out of positive territory throughout the session. For the week, however, the index looked solidly in the red, as it is poised to drop 3.6%. That would break two previous weeks of gains.

Banking shares have been the source of much of this week's pain for the market after the release of financial updates, although BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR) shares bucked the losing trend Friday and rose 5.3%. The French lender's fourth-quarter profit was halved, hit by a write-down on its Italian bank. But revenue increased 3% to 10.45 billion euros. Nomura analyst Jon Peace described the results as "reassuringly in line" with expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bnp-paribas-profit-halved-by-italian-write-down-2016-02-05-34851739).

BNP shares were at the top of France's CAC 40 . The index was up 0.7%, but was still on track for a 3.5% weekly decline.

Near the bottom of the Stoxx 600 was ArcelorMittal SA (MT) (MT). Shares dropped 6% as the world's largest steelmaker said it will issue $3 billion worth of shares (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/arcelormittal-to-issue-3-billion-in-shares-2016-02-05) to strengthen its balance sheet. The move is aimed to help the company deal with falling steel prices and global oversupply.

Read:China lays out plan to reduce steel capacity (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-lays-out-plan-to-reduce-steel-capacity-2016-02-04)

Dollar and DAX: Investors will look for the closely watched U.S. jobs report for January, due at 1:30 p.m. London time, or 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect nonfarm payrolls to have risen by 180,000 last month, down from the sharp gain of 292,000 in December.

Read: Why a January jobs slowdown may not be a bad sign (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-a-january-jobs-slowdown-may-not-be-a-bad-sign-2016-02-04)

"It is hard to overstate just how important today's January payrolls report is, with markets having re-priced [Federal Reserve] rate prospects, to the extent that a March hike now has only a 10% probability attached and a single hike by year-end is less than 50% discounted," wrote Adam Cole, head of G10 FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets, in a note.

Weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data this week prompted a selloff in the U.S. dollar . That led to the euro on Thursday to trade above $1.12 for the first time since late October. The shared currency on Friday was buying $1.1196.

A stronger euro tends to pressure European exporters, and that worrisome sentiment was expressed on Germany's DAX , which now it faces a 4.1% weekly drop. The index on Friday swung between gains and losses, most recently edging up 0.1% to 9,400.52.

In London, the FTSE 100 also seesawed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-stocks-wobble-as-miners-lose-hold-on-gains-2016-02-05).

Investing Insights: A global markets survival guide

If you'll be in London on Tuesday, Feb. 23, you're invited to join us for an evening of cocktails and conversation on the topics of shifting monetary policy, growth, currencies, and the outlook for investing opportunities and risks in European and global markets.

Our panelists for the evening will include MarketWatch Personal Finance and Investing Columnist Robert Powell; Mark Hulbert, Editor of the Hulbert Financial Digest; and Virginie Maisonneuve, Founder and Managing Director of Maisonneuve Global Advisors.

The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. For more information or to RSVP for the event, please email (MarketWatchevent@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2016 05:20 ET (10:20 GMT)

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