Europe stocks head for lower open after three straight declines; U.S. jobs data in focus

LONDON — European stock markets are heading for a lower open Thursday, continuing a negative run after closing last week at a record high.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were all seen opening slightly lower, according to IG data.

The regional Stoxx 600 index tumbled in the first three trading sessions of September after closing above 525 points for the first time on Friday.

Global sentiment has yet again been rattled by U.S. data, after weak manufacturing surveys and lower-than-expected jobs openings suggested a slowdown in the world’s biggest economy.

That has put even more focus on the remaining U.S. jobs releases out this week, particularly initial jobless claims on Thursday and nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate on Friday.

A weak July jobs report was a major factor in the broad stock sell-off at the start of August.

Markets have also been pulled down this week by the technology sector, which lost 3.2% in Europe on Wednesday.

U.S. chipmaking giant Nvidia suffered a massive wipeout on Tuesday which pulled down chip stocks worldwide. The company on Wednesday denied reports it received a subpoena from the Department of Justice over antitrust concerns.

On Wall Street, index futures were little changed in the early hours Thursday after a turbulent start to September.

Asia-Pacific markets also extended losses, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 suffering the steepest decline after wages recorded softer growth in August, potentially offering the Bank of Japan more room for a rate hike.