Europe stocks end flat as miners offset banks

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 end flat; up 1.2 percent on the week
                                
 * Banks resume 4-week selloff, Barclays sags on stake sale
                                
 * Miners rally along with commodity prices
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]
                                
 
                                
 By Blaise Robinson
                                
 PARIS, Oct 8 (Reuters) - European stocks ended mostly
unchanged on Friday as worries over a surprise drop in U.S.
monthly payrolls data were offset by mounting expectations the
Federal Reserve will take further steps to support the economy.
                                
 Heavyweight miners such as Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and BHP
Billiton <BLT.L> rallied along with commodity prices on
expectations that the Fed will pump more money into the system.
                                
 Banking stocks, however, resumed their four-week pull-back,
with Barclays <BARC.L> losing 2.3 percent after a key investor
cut his stake in the bank.
                                
 The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares
closed 0.01 percent higher at 1,070.67 points, gaining 1.2
percent on the week.
                                
 "Over the past few months, stocks have been pretty much
ignoring the bleak jobs picture and consumer confidence data,
while the quantitative easing has boosted liquidity and sparked
a rally in commodities," said Vincent Ganne, technical analyst
at IG Markets.
                                
 "The quantitative easing has started to drastically change
the landscape. It may help on the short term, but on the longer
term there is a serious danger of ending up in a Japanese-style
scenario."
                                
 Data showed on Friday the U.S. economy shed jobs in
September for a fourth month in a row as government payrolls
dropped and private hiring slowed. Economists had expected
overall payrolls would be unchanged. [ID:nN08205203]
                                
 
                                
 <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                
 For a graphic on payrolls: http://r.reuters.com/zez57p
                                
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
                                
 
                                
 "With data like this, it will take a substantial pick up in
inflation before the Nov. 3 FOMC meeting to prevent an
announcement of more quantitative easing," ING economist Rob
Carnell wrote in a note.
                                
 Around Europe, UK's FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> dipped 0.1
percent, Germany's DAX index <.GDAXI> gained 0.3 percent, and
France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> shed 0.2 percent.
                                
 The Euro STOXX 50 <.STOXX50E> dipped 0.05 percent to
2,785.43 points.
                                
 The euro zone blue chip index has been stuck between its
200-day moving average at 2,769.03 points, which has served as
strong support level over the past three sessions, and 2,805.95
points, which represents the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement
of the index's drop from an April high to a May low, a key
resistance level the index has been testing for a month without
convincingly breaking it.
                                
 TomTom <TOM2.AS> surged 9.8 percent after the Dutch
navigation device maker and owner of digital map maker Tele
Atlas said it has set up a joint venture with Nasdaq-listed
AutoNavi <AMAP.O> to deliver maps and traffic services in China.
[ID:nWEA1486]
                                
 Danish food ingredients and enzymes maker Danisco <DCO.CO>
tumbled 5.8 percent after it raised its operating profit margin
target by less than expected and said it would take some years
to reach the goal. [ID:nLDE697049]
                                
 (Editing by David Cowell)