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Banks help Europe stocks edge higher after selloff

Fri Jul 3, 2009 3:11am EDT

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PARIS, July 3 (Reuters) - European shares inched higher in early trade on Friday, following the previous session's selloff triggered by downbeat U.S. jobs data, as banks and energy shares bounced back.

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At 0707 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent at 846.04 points.

BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) rose 1.6 percent, Banco Santander (SAN.MC) added 0.7 percent, Total (TOTF.PA) gained 0.6 percent and BP (BP.L) rose 0.5 percent.

"Payrolls were a wake up call," said Jacques Henry, analyst at Louis Capital Markets, in Paris.

"The data showed that the economic recovery remains fragile and more downbeat data is to be expected, particularly on the jobs front. Stocks are ripe for a consolidation period."

Data showed on Thursday U.S. employers shed nearly half a million jobs in June and the unemployment rate surged to 9.5 percent, the highest in nearly 26 years. [ID:nN01210643]

U.S. markets will be closed on Friday for a holiday. (Reporting by Blaise Robinson, editing by Atul Prakash)

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