July 11, 2006	Tuesday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 14, 1427

LONDON, July 10: European stocks fell on Monday as weakness in the oil sector and a Wall Street slump before the weekend offset excitement following the debut of British insurer Standard Life, dealers said.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares slid 0.34 per cent to 5,868.80 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index fell 0.55 per cent to 5,650.32 points and the Paris CAC 40 shed 0.21 per cent to 4,943.08.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares decreased 0.48 per cent to 3,633.81 points.

The euro stood at $1.2756.

Before the weekend, Wall Street had suffered heavy losses after the latest data on US job growth stoked concerns about slowing economic conditions and building inflationary pressures.

Japanese share prices rallied on Monday as bargain hunters emerged following recent losses, encouraged by better-than-expected machinery orders data, dealers said.

In London on Monday, all eyes were on the insurance sector as Standard Life made early gains after coming to the market and ending 80 years of mutual ownership.

Standard Life shares were changing hands at 241.5 pence, having drifted back from an opening price of 245 pence in heavy trade, but well above the 230 pence flotation price.

Peer Aviva slid 0.14 per cent to 724 pence and Friends Provident slipped 0.42 per cent to 179 pence.

On the downside, oil stocks were the major drag as crude prices eased from record highs but remained close to $73 per barrel, supported by continued concerns over Iran and North Korea.Cairn Energy fell 1.52 per cent to 2,133 pence, BP was down 1.39 per cent at 638.5 pence, while French peer Total saw its shares lose 0.77 per cent to 51.4 euros in Paris trade.

In US trading on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen by 1.20 per cent to 11,090.67 points while the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.16 per cent to 2,130.06.

The Standard and Poor's 500 broad-market index dropped 0.67 per cent to 1,265.48 points.

The Labor Department said US employers added 121,000 new jobs last month, but that average hourly earnings spiked up by a more than expected 0.5 per cent from May.

As the market digested the news, concerns about slowing growth along with rising inflation emerged.—AFP