European shares ended yesterday little changed as gains from buoyant miners and a successful placing of new ABN AMRO stock were offset by a $1 spike in oil prices and mixed US data pushed the region's main stock indices below session highs.
Compass also weighed, losing five per cent, as the world's largest contract caterer said its annual profit would take a £24 million hit, while shares in Telefonica shed 1.5 per cent after bidding a higher-than-expected $3.55 billion for 51 per cent of Cesky Telecom.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan European blue chips was up 0.05 per cent at 1,085.3 points, off from a session peak of 1,091.72 points after a fall in US gasoline stockpiles pushed oil prices back above $55 a barrel.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index looked set to end the first quarter 4.2 per cent higher than it started it. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index ended flat at 3,055.7 points.
Investors sifted through a mixed batch of US economic numbers. They took comfort in a key US inflation gauge in line with expectations, but much stronger than expected business activity in the Midwest added to their worries that inflationary pressures could force the Federal Reserve to raise rates more aggressively than it has so far.
"The Chicago PMI (Purchasing Management Index) number has at least for now distracted the market from the relatively benign February PCE (personal consumption expenditures) number," said Omer Esiner, market analyst at Ruesch International in Washington DC.
"The Chicago PMI is consistent with a more aggressive pace of policy tightening the market has been pricing in for the past two weeks, and the dollar has shown some strength as a result."
All eyes on the market were now turned on today's all-important US non-farm payrolls report.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.3 per cent to 10,512.7, while the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.3 per cent to 1,999.3.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 and the Swiss Market Index closed down 0.1 per cent and 0.05 per cent respectively, while Paris's CAC 40 gained 0.03 per cent and Frankfurt's DAX was 0.1 per cent stronger.
Mining groups such as Anglo-American, Antofagasta and Xstrata gained between 0.8 per cent and 2.9 per cent as bellwether copper hit record highs in Shanghai on strong Chinese demand. The Economist Intelligence Unit said base metals would be the star performer this year and will attract renewed interest from speculative funds.
On the banking front, ABN AMRO said it had raised €2.5 billion from the sale of new shares, which will help fund its €6.3 billion bid for Italy's Banca Antonveneta. ABN shares closed 1.8 per cent higher.
The auto sector also stood out, led by Continental as the German tyre and car parts maker's quarterly operating profit beat all forecasts and planned new profit records this year. Its shares closed 5.5 per cent higher.
Serono was another bright spot, up 3.2 per cent after another patient receiving Tysabri, which threatened the Swiss company's Rebif as a premier multiple sclerosis drug, was found to have had a rare and often fatal brain disease.
On the downside, Britain's Smith & Nephew shed 4.7 per cent after the medical device firm received a subpoena as part of a wider US investigation into agreements between implant makers and surgeons.