Women operate mobile phones in front of the stock index display of a securities firm in Tokyo Monday, July 9, 2012. Asian stocks were lower Monday after a disappointing U.S. jobs report stoked concern that the world’s biggest economy remains mired in weak growth. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)NATALIYA VASILYEVA
MOSCOW (AP) – European stock markets had a weak start on Monday after a disappointing U.S. jobs report at the end of last week dimmed the outlook for the world’s largest economy.
Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.5 percent in morning trading to 5,634.31. France’s CAC-40 dropped 0.6 percent at 3,148.22 while Germany’s DAX was down 0.3 percent at 6,389.64.
The U.S. economy added a less than expected 80,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The tepid employment growth, which followed the first drop in U.S. manufacturing in three years, increases pressure on the Federal Reserve to implement monetary stimulus measures known as quantitative easing.
“The markets start the new week in gloomy spirits as economic growth concerns are clearly back in investors’ minds,” Moscow-based UralSib bank said in a morning note. “The weak U.S. payrolls report on Friday added to already-negative sentiment and ensured that markets ended the week in a risk-off mode.”