* FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.3 percent
* Miners recover on weaker dollar, Alcoa results
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Harro ten Wolde
LONDON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - European shares fell in early
trade on Friday as the dollar edged lower ahead of U.S. jobs
data which could indicate whether more stimulus measures would
be introduced to fuel the flagging recovery.
However, Swiss Actelion <ATLN.VX> rose 9.5 percent, building
on the previous day's gains, with traders citing further talk
that Europe's largest biotech could be an acquisition target.
[]
At 0831 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 0.3 percent at 1,067.43 points, after
ending flat in the previous session.
"There is some nervousness. We have seen in the course of
the last couple of days that the market is reacting
substantially to any indication about the labour statistics,"
said Luc Van Hecka, chief economist at KBC Securities.
"But fundamentals are still relatively strong and earnings
growth has been quite substantial. I suppose that most earnings
will be within expectations or slightly above them. It should be
supportive for the market."
Energy shares <.SXEP> lost 0.8 percent, tracking losses in
crude oil prices. BP <BP.L>, BG Group <BG.L> and Repsol <REP.MC>
fell 0.6 to 0.8 percent.
Mining shares were up, with the declining dollar helping
metal prices and after U.S. aluminium group Alcao <AA.N> beat
analysts' expectations with its third quarter results
[].
BHP Billiton <BLT.L> was up 1 percent, while Rio Tinto
<RIO.L> edged up 0.5 percent.
WEAK DOLLAR WEIGHS
The U.S. currency came under pressure again on Friday,
starting to lose gains made from a bout of profit-taking to
adjust positions ahead of the jobs data and Group of Seven (G7)
and IMF meetings later in the week.
Bets against the dollar have grown significantly since
September because of increased expectations the Federal Reserve
will print money to buy debt, and that may limit the downside if
the payrolls number is a lot lower than expected.
The 90-day inverse correlation between gold <XAU=> and the
dollar is the strongest it has been all year, meaning when one
falls, the other is very much likely to rise based on price
action over the past three months.
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For a Reuters column on U.S. nonfarm payrolls and the dollar
click on: []
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"We are waiting for the right trigger and we have been for
more than a month now," said Rob Koenders, an asset manager at
Dutch Harmony Vermogensbeheer, adding that the build-up to
recovery was similar to 2003 and 2004.
Concerns that a stronger euro <EUR=> may weigh on the pace
of Europe's economic recovery were fuelled on Friday by German
exports, which fell in August for the second consecutive month
and narrowing the trade balance. []
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> fell between 0.1 and 0.3
percent
Commerzbank <CBKG.DE> was among the top gainers in Europe,
up 2.9 percent after sources said the German bank would not
issue new shares at current prices. []
(Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Hans Peters)
