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* U.S. jobs growth slows
* Tech stocks drop 1.4%, outweigh gains in oil and auto
stocks
* BA-owner up as UK set to ease quarantine rules
* Daimler up as UBS upgrades stock to "buy"
(Updates to close)
By Sruthi Shankar and Susan Mathew
Oct 8 (Reuters) - European stocks ended a volatile session
lower on Friday as investors digested data showing slowing jobs
growth in the United States, but they still marked their best
week in two months as fears of soaring inflation were tempered.
A U.S. Labor Department report showed nonfarm payrolls
increased by 194,000 jobs last month, compared with an
expectation of 500,000. Although the headline number was a huge
miss, analysts said excluding the seasonally adjusted factors,
the number was not too disappointing.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index, which had fallen
as much as 0.5%, only briefly reversed the earlier losses after
the data.
"Payrolls data came in weaker than expected, but the overall
trend of an improving labor market remains intact," said Sameer
Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo
Investment Institute.
While strong numbers could cement the case for the U.S.
Federal Reserve's withdrawal of its support for the economy,
many analysts expect that even a second straight weak employment
report may not be enough to hold back the central bank from
announcing a slowdown of its bond purchases later this year.
"It doesn't look like today's figure comes anywhere close to
the kind of scary figure that might provoke (the Fed) into
swerving course at the last minute," said Chris Beauchamp, chief
market analyst at online trader IG.
Oil and auto stocks led gains in Europe, but
this was outweighed by tech stocks falling 1.4% as
rising bond yields dimmed the high-growth sector's appeal.
The STOXX 600 rose 1% on the week as relief over a temporary
lifting of the U.S. debt ceiling and as easing fears of an
energy crunch calmed rallying oil and gas prices which had
triggered inflation worries.
UK travel stocks, including British-Airways owner IAG
, Whitbread and Ryanair, gained between
0.4% and 1.6% with Britain set to scrap tough COVID-19
quarantine requirements for 47 destinations.
Czech trucking services firm Eurowag fell 10% in its
London market debut after floating a day late and at a cut
price.
Auto stocks rose 1.3%, rebounding from a selloff in
September on concerns about supply chain bottlenecks and chip
shortages hitting production.
German carmaker Daimler rose 2.6% as UBS upgraded
its stock to "buy" from "neutral" and hiked its price target to
100 euros from 79 euros.
Cnova NV, the e-commerce arm of French retailer
Casino, fell 3.8% after saying it could no longer
confirm its June financial forecast.
London-listed shares of TUI AG sank 15.5% on the
first day of a discounted rights issue.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Anisha Sircar in Bengaluru;
Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
