Stocks (SXXP) and oil dropped as services and manufacturing output in the euro region shrank more than estimated and France, Germany and Greece prepared for elections this weekend. U.S. index futures were little changed before the monthly U.S. jobs report. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.4 percent at 7:25 a.m. in New York, after falling 1 percent. Benchmark gauges in Russia and India retreated at least 1.9 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added less than 0.1 percent. The euro weakened 0.2 percent to $1.3129. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield was at 1.94 percent, with the yield on the Greek February 2023 bond rising for the fourth straight day. Oil dropped 1.3 percent. A purchasing managers gauge in Europe dropped to 46.7, below the initial estimate of 47.4, London-based Markit Economics said today. French voters go to the polls in a final runoff between President Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist challenger Francois Hollande, while Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party risks losing control of a state in a regional ballot. Greeks pick a new government in a national election. “It’s going to be a slower, tougher slog and it’s going to be periodically interrupted by risk and news out of Europe,� Russ Koesterich, global chief investment strategist for the IShares unit of BlackRock Inc., which oversees $3.68 trillion, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Lower Earnings The Stoxx 600 extended this week’s retreat to 1 percent. Thirteen companies traded without the right to the latest dividend payment, removing 0.38 points, or more than a third of the decline, in the gauge, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Wacker Chemie AG, the second-biggest producer of solar-grade silicon, fell 5.8 percent in Frankfurt after saying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for fiscal 2012 are expected to be “well below� the previous year. Futures on the S&P 500 (SPX) fluctuated between gains and losses at least eight times today. American employers probably added 160,000 positions last month, according to the median of 85 estimates in Bloomberg survey of economists. LinkedIn Corp. jumped 11 percent in pre-market trading as the biggest professional-networking website reported first- quarter sales and profit that topped analyst estimates. Twelve companies in the U.S. gauge are due to release earnings today. Of the 383 index members that have reported since April 10, 268 have posted per-share profit that topped estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Emerging markets The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) dropped 0.4 percent. India’s Sensex Index sank 1.9 percent as the rupee weakened, spurring concern the government may find it hard to cool inflation and curb the fiscal deficit. The Micex Index lost 2.8 percent in Moscow. The euro was set for its biggest weekly decline against the dollar in a month. The Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the U.S. currency against those of six trading partners, rose 0.1 percent, while the yen strengthened against all but one of its 16 major peers. The yield on Greece’s 2023 bond rose 10 basis points. The French 10-year bond yield slipped eight basis points, falling for the fourth day this week, with the Italian two-year note yield 12 basis points lower. The yield on Finland’s 10-year bond fell to 1.979 percent, the lowest on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 commodities dropped 0.6 percent, the third consecutive decline. Crude also fell for a third day, the longest streak in four weeks, to $101.18 a barrel in New York. To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Justin Carrigan at jcarrigan@bloomberg.net

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