European shares and U.S. stock-index futures retreated before a government report that may show rising American unemployment. Asian shares fell. Barclays Plc slid 3.5 percent after Nomura Holdings Inc. sold 220 million shares of the U.K. lender as part of a hedging transaction with Abu Dhabi. Actelion Ltd. rallied 12 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported Switzerland’s largest biotechnology company may sell itself. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.5 percent to 261.1 at 8:20 a.m. in London, trimming this week’s gain to 0.8 percent. The gauge has still rallied 12 percent since its low this year in May as concern eased that the region’s sovereign-debt crisis and slowing growth in China and the U.S. would curb corporate profits. Stocks advanced this week amid speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve would follow this week’s decision by the Bank of Japan to introduce another round of stimulus measures to prop up the flagging economic recovery. “At this crucial stage of the cycle where markets are trying to work out whether we are climbing out of the soft patch, today’s payroll data should really be a key report,” Jim Reid, a London-based Deutsche Bank AG global strategist wrote in an email. “However the truth is that the market has been medicated for now. Strength in the report may be met with the ‘QE2’ intravenous drip being turned down and weakness may lead to it being pumped straight back up.” Futures contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in December lost 0.2 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.8 percent. U.S. Jobs The U.S. jobless rate rose to 9.7 percent from 9.6 percent in August, according to the median estimate of 83 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Payrolls excluding government agencies rose by 75,000, while a drop in public staffing as the decennial census wound down caused total hiring to decline for a fourth straight month, the report due 1:30 p.m. London time may also show. A lack of jobs underscores the concern expressed by some Federal Reserve policy makers that the rebound from the worst recession since the 1930s has been too slow and may require easier monetary policy. Hedged Stake Barclays sank 3.5 percent to 293.5 pence. Abu Dhabi’s ruling family hedged its entire stake in Barclays, with Nomura, the counterparty in the agreement, selling 649 million pounds ($1 billion) in shares of the U.K. lender as part of the deal. Nomura sold 220 million shares in Barclays at 295 pence per share in connection with hedging activities on behalf of PCP Gulf Invest 3 Ltd., a company controlled by Abu Dhabi, according to a person familiar with the deal. Sage Group Plc declined 1.8 percent to 277.5 pence after UBS AG cut its recommendation on the shares to “sell” from “neutral,” saying it is skeptical about the possibility of any buyers for the U.K.’s largest software maker. Gecina SA dropped 4.6 percent to 86.7 euros as Banco Castilla-La Mancha sells a 1 million-share stake in the French real-estate company. The sale is being managed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Actelion rallied 12 percent to 50.05 Swiss francs, the biggest gain in more than three years. The company has formed a committee of board members to evaluate alternatives and has hired a financial adviser, the Wall Street Journal reported. Voestalpine AG, Austria’s biggest steelmaker, advanced 1.4 percent to 28.38 euros as JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the shares to “overweight” from “neutral.” To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Merritt at dmerritt1@bloomberg.net.

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