Most European shares had a steady start this morning as investors paused after a selloff late last week and shifted their focus on what long-awaited jobs data from the US could reveal about the health of the world's largest economy.
London's FTSE index inched five points (0.05%) higher to trade at 9,703, while the Frankfurt DAX gained 32 points (0.1%) to stand at 23,908 but the Paris CAC dipped eight points (0.1%) to reach 8,161.
Dublin's ISEQ index had dropped 96 points (0.8%) to hit 12,269 this morning. Shares in Ryanair fell 1.1% to trade at €26.52, while Irish Continental Group lost 1% to stand at €5.80. The banking shares were also lower with AIB down 0.9% to reach €8.40 while Bank of Ireland slipped 0.7% to hit €15.59.
Earlier in Asian trade, Tokyo's Nikkei index dipped 52 points (0.1%) to close at 50,324 as tourism-related stocks tumbled after China warned its citizens against travel to Japan amid a worsening diplomatic rift over Taiwan.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 188 points (0.7%) to finish at 26,384 as investors turned cautious on those heightened tensions between Beijing and Tokyo over the weekend and opted to book profits following a recent rally.
Wall Street stocks ended mixed on Friday night as investors looked ahead to Nvidia's quarterly results next week and worried that the Federal Reserve may hold off on cutting US interest rates in December.
The S&P 500 fell 0.05% to end at 6,734, while the Nasdaq gained 0.13% to close at 22,900 and the Dow Jones declined 0.65% to finish at 47,147.
