European stocks opened fractionally lower Friday as investors await the release of a key U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which may provide an indication as to whether the Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates at July’s monetary policy meeting.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.1% in the early minutes of trade, basic resources tumbling 1.3% while telecoms led gains with a 0.5% rise.

Market focus is largely attuned to U.S. nonfarm payrolls and unemployment data, expected on Friday. Nonfarm payrolls are predicted to have risen by 160,000 in June, compared to 75,000 in May, according to a Reuters poll.

Source : CNBC