* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 0.4 pct ahead of U.S. jobs data
* Miners among top decliners as base metals prices slip
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - European share prices slipped back
on Friday after scaling to 28-month highs in the previous
session, with investors avoiding strong bets ahead of a key U.S.
jobs report that is expected to set the market's near-term
direction.
Forecast-beating U.S. private-sector jobs data on Wednesday
raised hopes for the non-farm payrolls figures due out at 1330
GMT on Friday, although weekly jobless claims and chain store
sales figures on Thursday did not meet analysts' expectations.
At 0919 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 0.4 percent at 1,142.32 points after
rising as high as 1,149.58 earlier in the session and climbing
to its highest since mid-September 2008 on Thursday.
Miners lost ground, with the STOXX 600 European basic
resources index <.SXPP> falling 0.7 percent and Anglo American
<AAL.L> down 1.6 percent as base metal prices fell on a firmer
dollar and talk of monetary tightening in top consumer China.
"What we are seeing is a limited amount of profit-taking,
given the fact that these markets have moved very rapidly in a
short space of time and are looking technically a little
overbought," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin
Dolphin.
"I don't think the market is going to give up very much
ground. They may just pause for breath but the underlying
fundamental support does seem to be quite positive. Expectations
for America have improved considerably and that has implications
for earnings. Valuations for these markets are not demanding."
The U.S. ADP report this week showed a record number of
private sector jobs were created in December, prompting analysts
to upgrade their forecasts for non-farm payrolls to increase
175,000, up from 140,000 in an earlier Reuters survey.
"The consensus estimates suggest that U.S. non-farm payroll
figures will show a rise of about 175,000, but the whisper
figure is far higher than that. I think you have some room for
disappointment," said Koen De Leus, strategist at KBC
Securities, in Brussels.
"If it's a blow-out figure, then the positive momentum can
go on for a while."
PHILIPS GAINS
Among individual movers, Philips Electronics <PHG.AS> rose
2.3 percent, touching an almost three-month high after JP Morgan
upgraded the Dutch light bulb and consumer electronics maker to
"overweight" from "neutral" on expected growth.
Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG <NOVN.VX> rose 0.3 percent after
it said the European Commission has approved broader application
of its Lucentis drug to treat visually impaired patients, giving
sales of the drug a potential boost.
On the macroeconomic front, Germany's trade balance narrowed
in November as imports gained more than expected, a sign of
domestic demand growing in strength although separate numbers on
retail sales showed a surprise dip in the same month.
[]
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> fell 0.1 to 0.5 percent,
while the Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Countries Index
<.TRXFLDPIPU> declined 0.6 percent.
(Editing by Greg Mahlich)
