European shares flat

European shares closed flat on Wednesday as a report showing a large increase in US job creation was countered by a stronger dollar that helped weaken metals prices and halt a rally in the mining sector. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares rose 0.04 percent to close at 1,142.46 points, with the US jobs data helping it climb off a day's low of 1,128.49.
Metals prices retreated after a strong run, sending some heavyweight mining shares lower. Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto fell between 0.6 and 1.7 percent. US private employers added 297,000 jobs in December, the biggest rise since at least 2001, a report showed. The median estimate from 27 economists surveyed by Reuters for the ADP Employer Services report was for 100,000.
Adding to the feeling of a strong recovery in the world's biggest economy, the US non-manufacturing sector grew in December at its fastest pace in more than four years, according to an industry report. "The ADP and ISM data would suggest things are going very well, though if it's going so well then central banks will have to put up interest rates," said Andy Lynch, fund manager at Schroders.
The ADP figures came ahead of the US government's much more comprehensive labour market report on Friday, which includes public and private sector employment. Energy stocks were among the gainers as crude prices shrugged off the stronger dollar and reversed earlier losses, with Brent topping $95 after a US government report showed that inventories had fallen more than expected.
Total, ENI, BP and Statoil rose between 0.4 and 1.3 percent. Oil services firm Technip rose 3 percent after a contract win in Vietnam. Heavyweight banks to rise included HSBC, up 3.1 percent. Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent to its highest close in 31 months. Germany's DAX and France's CAC40 fell 0.5 and 0.3 percent respectively.
The European benchmark rose 7.3 percent in 2010, after gaining more than 25 percent in 2009. It is up 77 percent from its lifetime low in March 2009 with several major economies having emerged from recession, helped by stimulus from governments world-wide and central banks cutting interest rates. European chemical shares were among the fallers, with the STOXX Europe 600 chemicals index down 0.8 percent on concerns about a slowdown in world demand.