(Updates futures prices, adds company news)
LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - European shares were likely to open sharply lower on Friday after strong gains in the previous session, with investors waiting for a widely-watched U.S. jobs report that could provide hints about the timing of an expected interest rate hike.
Economists expect the U.S. 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 1230 GMT. ID:nL1N118288
"Today's non-farm payrolls are surely to be interpreted as bearish," Jonathan Sudaria, dealer at London Capital Group, said in a note. "If it beats expectation, we're going to sell-off on the fears of a rate hike, and if it's weak; it'll be put down to another indicator of a faltering global economy."
In Germany, industrial orders fell more than expected in July on lower foreign demand, the economy ministry said, but added that the weak euro and a recovery in the euro zone would support foreign trade. ID:nL5N1194CA
Futures for the Euro STOXX 50 STXEc1 , Germany's DAX FDXc1 , France's CAC 40 FCEc1 and Britain's FTSE FFIc1 were down 1.2 to 1.3 percent at 0637 GMT.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 2.4 percent in the previous session, extending earlier gains as the European Central Bank delivered a dovish message from its first meeting after weeks of market turmoil.
COMPANY NEWS
GVC HOLDINGS GVC.L , BWIN.PARTY BPTY.L
Online gambling company GVC Holdings said on Friday that Bwin.party Digital Entertainment had accepted its 1.06-billion-pound ($1.62 billion) takeover offer. ID:nL4N11A1G3
BASF BASFn.DE
BASF and Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) have agreed to revive a deal to swap gas assets that had collapsed in late 2014 that will see BASF exit gas trading and storage and see the Rusian energy giant expand into Western Europe, BASF said on Friday. ID:nWNAB087DQ
BAYER BAYGn.DE
Bayer's Covestro, Europe's fourth-largest chemicals maker, will launch an intital public offering of new shares in the fourth quarter, Bayer said on Friday. ID:nFWN11805J
ASTRAZENECA PLC AZN.L
AstraZeneca said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved a new dose of its blood thinner, Brilinta, for patients with a history of heart attack beyond the first year. ID:nL4N1194QK
VONTOBEL VONN.S
The Swiss bank said it had agreed to buy Italmobiliare-owned Finter Bank Zurich to boost its wealth management business with Italian clients. ID:nFWN11805D
COMMERZBANK CBKG.DE
Commerzbank said its Chief Risk Officer Stefan Schmittmann had requested that his contract be terminated at the end of the year. ID:nWEB00SAG
DEUTSCHE BOERSE DB1Gn.DE
Deutsche Boerse said it raised 200 million euros for the takeover of 360T in the placement of treasury shares. ID:nWEB00SAJ ID:nF9N10300D
RIB SOFTWARE RSTAG.DE
The company announced plans to raise its capital by 7.8 percent to raise funds to extend its iTWO platform and continue growing internationally. ID:nASM000C1W
SOFTWARE AG SOWG.DE
The software company announced plans to buy back shares worth up to 70 million euros. ID:nWEB00SAM
SANOFI SASY.PA
Genzyme Corp, a unit of the French drug company, will pay $32.59 million and admit wrongdoing to resolve criminal charges over the unlawful distribution of the surgical device Seprafilm, the U.S. Department of Justice said. ID:nL1N1192RS
NEOPOST NPOS.PA
The French mail and shipping group confirmed its 2015 outlook on the back of higher sales in the second quarter. ID:nS8N0QY00E
BOIRON BOIR.PA
The French homeopathy specialist posted a 5.3 percent rise in half-year sales but said it remained cautious on its outlook for 2015, citing geopolitical risks. ID:nL5N119483
CARMAT ALCAR.PA
The French medical company said a third patient implanted with its articifical heart had returned home. ID:nFWN119013
VOLKSWAGEN VOWG_p.DE
Volkswagen's finance chief Hans Dieter Poetsch is set to become its next chairman, putting Europe's biggest carmaker on course for calmer waters after rival factions including ousted patriarch Ferdinand Piech united to back him. ID:nL5N1192SE
MAJOR MACROECONOMIC DATA/EVENTS (GMT) ECON :
0600 DE Industrial Orders
0645 FR Consumer Confidence
1230 US Non-farm payrolls ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0514 GMT:
LAST PCT CHG
NET CHG S&P 500
1,951.13
0.12 %
2.27 NIKKEI
17858.29 -1.78 %
-324.1 MSCI ASIA EX-JP
389.18 -0.86 %
-3.37 EUR/USD
EUR=
1.1125
0.04 %
0.0004 USD/JPY
JPY=
119.43 -0.52 %
-0.6300 10-YR US TSY YLD
2.140
--
-0.03 10-YR BUND YLD
EU10YT=RR
0.732
--
0.00 SPOT GOLD
$1,123.90 -0.08 %
-$0.95 US CRUDE
$46.14
-1.3 %
-0.61 > Asian shares mixed as U.S. jobs report looms, ECB soothes MKTS/GLOB
> Wall Street rises in volatile session ahead of jobs data .N
> Nikkei tumbles to fresh 7-month low as yen strengthens further .T
> Prices edge higher on dovish ECB, U.S. jobs data eyed US/N
> Dovish ECB puts euro on the defensive, dollar awaits payrolls FRX/
> Gold retains 2-day decline ahead of U.S. jobs data GOL/
> London copper set for 2nd weekly gain MET/L
> Oil prices dip, investors wait on cues from U.S. jobs data O/R