PARIS, March 9 (Reuters) - European stocks were set to fall on Monday, tracking a sell-off on Wall Street after strong U.S. jobs data fanned expectations that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than previously thought.
Investors were also rattled by data that showed German exports in January fell by the largest amount since August, dropping far more than forecast and putting a damper on expectations that Europe's largest economy would expand robustly in the first quarter after a strong end to last year. ID:nL5N0W83X0
Data from China showed the country's exports picked up in the first two months of 2015, inflated by the timing of Lunar New Year, but a slide in imports pointed to persistent weakness in the economy. ID:nL4N0W81GO
The French economy is on course to grow 0.3 percent in the first quarter, the Bank of France said in its latest business survey on Monday, revising down its forecast from an earlier 0.4 percent. ID:nP6N0T302I
At 0740 GMT, futures for Euro STOXX 50 STXEc1 , for Germany's DAX FDXc1 and for France's CAC FCEc1 were down 0.2-0.4 percent.
The S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.4 percent on Friday and posted a weekly loss for a second straight week. .N
On the M&A front, Holcim HOLN.VX and Lafarge LAFP.PA will be in focus after SonntagsZeitung reported that Holcim's largest stakeholder, Thomas Schmidheiny, wants a better deal for the Swiss cement maker's shareholders in its planned merger with Lafarge. Holcim declined to comment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0740 GMT:
LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500
2,071.26 -1.42 % -29.78 NIKKEI
18790.55 -0.95 % -180.45 MSCI ASIA EX-JP
478.79 -1.14 %
-5.52 EUR/USD
EUR=
1.0863
0.18 % 0.0020 USD/JPY
JPY=
120.83
0 % 0.0000 10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR
2.233
--
-0.01 10-YR BUND YLD
EU10YT=RR
0.385
--
-0.02 SPOT GOLD
$1,172.30
0.48 %
$5.58 US CRUDE
$49.63
0.04 %
0.02
> GLOBAL MARKETS-JOBS DATA RAISES ODDS OF RATE RISE, HITS STOCKS MKTS/GLOB
> US STOCKS-WALL ST ENDS LOWER AS JOBS DATA MAY BRING RATE HIKE SOONER .N
> NIKKEI DROPS AS STRONG JOBS REPORT STOKES US RATE RISE TALK .T
> TREASURIES-YIELDS JUMP AFTER STRONG U.S. FEBRUARY JOBS REPORT US/N
> FOREX-DOLLAR BASKS IN PAYROLLS AFTERGLOW, GREECE BACK IN HOT SEAT FRX/
> PRECIOUS-GOLD STRUGGLES NEAR 3-MONTH LOW ON FIRM DOLLAR, US JOBS DATA GOL/
> METALS-COPPER HITS 2-WEEK LOW ON U.S. RATE HIKE VIEW, CHINA DATA MET/L
> BRENT DROPS TOWARD $59 AS DOLLAR FIRMS ON US JOBS DATA O/R
COMPANY NEWS:
HOLCIM HOLN.VX
Holcim's largest stakeholder, Thomas Schmidheiny, wants a better deal for the Swiss cement maker's shareholders in its planned merger with Lafarge LAFP.PA, SonntagsZeitung reported, citing people close to the Swiss billionaire. Holcim declined to comment. HOLN.VX
WPP WPP.L
The world's biggest advertising company said it had seen strong trading in January after reporting 2014 results broadly in line with forecasts due to strong growth in North America and Britain. WPP.L
BARCLAYS BARC.L , DEUTSCHE BANK DBKGn.DE
Britain's Serious Fraud Office is calling former traders of Barclays Plc and Deutsche Bank for interviews as part of its investigation of whether the Euribor benchmark interest rate was rigged, the FT reported, citing people familiar with the probe. ID:nL1N0WA0OZ
CONWERT CONW.VI , DEUTSCHE WOHNEN DWNG.DE
JP Morgan will advise Austria's Conwert on a takeover offer announced by German rival Deutsche Wohnen for 11.50 euros ($12) per share, the property company said on Monday. CONW.VI
BP BP.L
BP on Friday ended its bid to oust the administrator overseeing payouts to businesses and individuals claiming damages arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, citing steps the administrator has taken to reduce the threat of fraud. BP.L
SIKA SIK.VX , SAINT-GOBAIN SGOB.PA
The firm said it had received notice that two investors, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust and Cascade Investment, have filed a request with the Swiss Takeover Board. They requested the Takeover Board declare that Saint Gobain SGOB.PA is obliged to submit a public tender offer for all the publicly-held shares in Sika. SIK.VX
VIVENDI VIV.PA
Liberty Media Chairman John Malone has approached Vincent Bolloré about his interest in selling Universal Music Group, the New York Post reported. ID:nL4N0WB1F8
AIR FRANCE-KLM AIRF.PA
French stock market regulators fined Air-France-KLM and former chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon over the group's financial communication relating to its results and outlook for the 2010-11 financial year. ID:nFWN0W805U
Separately, Air France-KLM will launch a sale of catering unit Servair soon, seen worth up to around 400 million ($435 million) and has mandated BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) to manage the deal. ID:nL5N0W83XE
FINMECCANICA SIFI.MI
Japan's Hitachi will pay Finmeccanica 9.5 euros for each share in the Italian firm's rail business Ansaldo STS after a dividend distribution adjustment to a previously agreed deal, the companies said in a joint statement on Friday. SIFI.MI
FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES FCHA.MI
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne earned 31.3 million euros ($34 million) last year, including a bonus for cementing a deal that created the world's seventh-largest carmaker, a regulatory filing showed. FCHA.MI
GENERALI GASI.MI
The insurer could pay a dividend per share higher than market consensus of 0.58 euros, Il Sole 24 Ore wrote on Sunday in an unsourced report. GASI.MI