On Friday European stocks fell as investors awaited reports on U.S. retail sales, industrial production and consumer confidence to gauge the health of the world’s largest economy. Asian shares dropped and U.S. futures fluctuated.
Novo Nordisk A/S slid 2.1 percent after Deutsche Bank AG lowered its recommendation for the world’s largest maker of insulin. ASML Holding NV, Europe’s biggest maker of semiconductor equipment, climbed 2.5 percent after Intel Corp.’s sales forecast beat analysts’ estimates. Smith & Nephew Plc gained 2.7 percent after a report that the maker of hip and knee replacements will start informal merger talks with Biomet Inc.
Lingering worries about the euro zone debt crisis and the U.S. jobs market prompted investors to trade cautiously. Thursday's figures showed weekly initial U.S. jobless claims last week jumped to their highest level since October.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down after closing 0.6 percent lower in the previous session, when the index hit a 28-month high before surrendering gains.
The U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the outlook for the U.S. economy has brightened, but warned on Thursday that growth this year won't be strong enough to cut the jobless rate as quickly as policy makers would like.
Technology shares featured among the top gainers after Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings results for the fourth quarter and gave a rosy outlook for early 2011 late on Thursday. Intel shares in Frankfurt rose 2.4 percent. Investors waited for results from JPMorgan, which will kick off the banking sector's earnings season.
Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 0.9 percent in heavy trade, moving away from 8-month highs. The decline, which surprised the market after brisk earnings from Intel, was partly offset by gains in chip-related stocks boosted by the world's largest chipmaker's strong results. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.9 percent, shedding 0.4 percent on the week. The broader Topix lost 0.8 percent.