Europe open: Stocks slip on oil price weakness ahead of US jobs data

European stocks are tracking the slight losses seen overnight on Wall Street ahead of the release of the all-important US jobs report for April which may well put paid to expectations of a US central bank rate hike in June.

As of 0828 BST the benchmark Stoxx 600 is lower by 0.31% to 390.78, alongside a drop of 0.20% in the German Dax and a 0.09% slip for the FTSE Mibtel to 21,153.12.

Acting as a backdrop, WTI crude oil futures were extending their recent move lower, erasing another 1.29% to trade at $44.94 a barrel on the ICE.

Analysts at VTB Capital attributed the move to remarks from Russian president Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov that the Kremlin has yet to decide whether to extend the 30 November OPEC pact for a coordinated reduction in output.

"Yet, as is often the case, this seems to be the proverbial last straw. The relentless growth of US crude production, as well as signs that monetary tightening in China is starting to take toll on growth there, means that a simple extension of the 30 November production cuts is unlikely to be sufficient to keep the oil market in balance in 2H17," they said.

All eyes were on the US non-farm jobs report which was set for release at 1330 GMT, with the consensus calling for 175,000 jobs to be added in April following a disappointing 98,000 in March.

In Europe, Spanish industrial production shrank by 0.4% month-on-month in March (consensus: 0.3%), according to INE.

Ratings agency S&P is set to publish the results of its review of Italy's sovereign long-term debt after the close of trading in London.

Meanwhile, on the corporate front, France's Vivendi clinched an extension of the rights to broadcast Formula 1.

Germany's Heidelberger Drucksmachinen is down by 1.8% after reporting annual net profits of €36.0m.