European shares retreat ahead of US jobs data

London - European shares retreated on Friday after strong gains in the previous session, with investors focusing on a widely-watched US jobs report for hints about the timing of an expected interest rate hike in the United States.

Economists expect the US economy to have produced 220 000 new non-farm jobs last month, continuing the robust employment creation of the past five years. The jobs report is due at 14:30.

Energy shares were the top sectoral decliners, with the STOXX Europe 600 Oil and Gas index falling 2%, tracking a sharp decline in crude oil prices.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 1.2% at 1 412.41 points by 09:06, after surging 2.4% in the previous day as the European Central Bank delivered a dovish message from its first meeting after weeks of market turmoil.