LONDON: European shares fell on Friday, with steelmaker ArcelorMittal and hedge fund Man Group among the worst performers.
Weak US jobs data further weighed on markets. ArcelorMittal fell 3.2 percent after the world's largest steelmaker kept its guidance unchanged. Man Group slumped 8.5 percent after Citigroup cut its rating on the stock to "sell" from "buy".
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index dropped 1.2 percent as the stocks lost ground after disappointing US jobs data.
The US economy added 160,000 jobs last month, the fewest in seven months and well below the 202,000 forecast in a Reuters poll. The weakness cast doubts on whether the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates by the end of 2016.
The euro gained against the dollar, which weighed on European stocks, since a stronger euro makes European exports more expensive and competing imports cheaper.
Gains by the euro could offset the European Central Bank's economic stimulus and curtail the effects of any pick-up in emerging markets, said Mark Richards, global strategist for multi-asset solutions at JP Morgan Asset Management.
"As ECB policy tilts away from assisting currency depreciation and more towards easing via the credit channel, the euro has strengthened.
This will partially offset any improvement in emerging market conditions," Richards said.
Among stocks gaining ground was Monte dei Paschi di Siena , which rose 2.2 percent after the Italian bank reported better-than-expected first-quarter results .
"Monte dei Paschi results came in better than expected but looking more in detail, the fact that they have lost deposits and that core capital is weaker are not that good," said Angelo Meda, portfolio manager at Banor Capital in Milan.
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