European shares lower, Nikkei hurt by US data

European shares fell today as banks extended declines from Friday in response to intensified worries about euro zone peripheral debt contagion. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.6 percent at 1,108.31 points, after falling 0.8 percent on Friday, when a US government report showed much lower jobs growth than

The Nikkei average fell on profit-taking after three weeks of gains, hurt by weak US and Chinese economic data, but it held the 10,000 line as investors avoided building large positions with the US corporate earnings season starting. The benchmark Nikkei closed down 0.7 percent at 10,069.53, while the broader Topix shed 0.5 percent to 870.16, outperforming Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, which fell more than 1 percent.