European stocks close lower as employment data disappoints
European stocks closed lower on Friday after a negative jobless report offset upbeat data on the bloc’s manufacturing sector. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares ended lower by 1.2 per cent at 1,432.43 points. However, it closed the last week’s trades higher 1.7 per cent , the first weekly advance in more than two months. Elsewhere, the U.S. Labor Department said last week that the nonfarm payrolls showed growth by 102,000 jobs in July, with private hiring up only 44,000. The unemployment rate, however, fell to a seven-month low at 4.9 per cent . Analysts had expected the NFP figure to increase 99,000 in the previous month and the jobless rate to remain at 5.2 per cent . The euro bears got more support after a report on the eurozone’s services sector data came in worse than estimated, shedding for a second straight month. Concerns over the debt crisis heightened after recent reports suggested the central bank m