By Stuart Wallace Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks fell in Europe and Asia on concern today’s U.S. jobs report may indicate an anemic economic recovery. The dollar declined. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index of European stocks slipped 0.4 percent at 12:15 p.m. in London and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index was 0.3 percent lower. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of U.S. shares rose 0.2 percent. The dollar weakened against the Canadian currency and the pound. Greek banks plunged after UBS AG analysts cut their ratings. U.S. payrolls probably fell by 125,000 workers in November to leave the jobless rate at a 26-year high of 10.2 percent, according to the median estimate of 82 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. An industry report yesterday showed U.S. service industries unexpectedly contracted last month and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet called the euro region’s recovery “uneven.” “Worries continue about unemployment and the volatility of currencies, especially for Europe,” said Benoit de Broissia, an analyst at KBL Richelieu Gestion in Paris, which oversees $4.5 billion. “The question now is: For 2010 will the recovery include job creation? I wouldn’t be surprised by a slight disappointment in today’s numbers.” The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations’ stocks slipped 0.2 percent, trimming its gain this week to 2.1 percent. Greek banking stocks slid after analysts at UBS cut their rating for Piraeus Bank SA, the fourth-biggest, to “neutral” from “buy” and lowered their share-price estimate. Piraeus sank 5.6 percent in Athens. Bank of America U.S. stock-index futures indicated that the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may rise after slipping 0.8 percent yesterday, when it broke a three-day winning streak. Bank of America Corp. declined 1.1 percent in early New York trading after raising $19.3 billion selling securities at $15 each. The MSCI emerging-markets index was little changed, leaving it with the biggest weekly gain in eight weeks, as raw-materials and energy companies including South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. and India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp. declined on lower commodities. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.6 percent, extending its largest weekly advance since March, as remarks by a bank industry regulator reduced concern that lenders will have to raise funds to comply with stricter capital rules. The extra yield investors demand to own emerging-market debt over U.S. Treasuries rose 1 basis point to 3.14 percentage points, the first increase in four days, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s EMBI+ Index. Rand Rises The dollar weakened against higher-yielding currencies, dropping 0.9 percent compared with the South African rand. The U.S. economy has lost about 7.3 million jobs during the recession, prompting the Federal Reserve to pledge to maintain record-low interest rates until employment improves. ECB council member Erkki Liikanen said today the economic recovery will follow “a rocky road,” and that “when stimulus ends and companies start to reduce stock levels again, there will probably be a little dip.” Government bonds rose, with the yield on the German two- year note falling 3 basis points to 1.26 percent. The yield on the two-year U.K. gilt also declined 3 basis points, to 1.10 percent. Gold for immediate delivery dropped 1 percent to $1,205.70 an ounce in London, retreating from a record $1,226.56 reached yesterday. Copper for delivery in three months fell 0.2 percent to $7,065 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. Nickel, zinc and tin also weakened. Crude oil for January delivery fell for a third day, shedding 0.9 percent to $75.79 a barrel in New York trading. To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart Wallace in London at swallace6@bloomberg.net

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