European shares dip, mining stocks and financials weigh
LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Friday, putting them on track for a small weekly loss, as major benchmarks tracked a global pull-back in risky assets.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.3 with a 1 percent drop for basic resource stocks the biggest drag and all but two sub-sectors in the red on the day. The STOXX 600 is down 0.5 percent this week.
Banking stocks were set for their biggest weekly losses in more than a month, down 0.5 percent on the day, in another sign that the so-called "reflation trades" were showing signs of exhaustion.
Oil stocks rose 0.3 percent after crude prices jumped more than 2 percent to a one-month high in a knee-jerk reaction to President Donald Trump ordering airstrikes on a Syrian airbase.
Investors awaited manufacturing data from Britain and non-farm payrolls from the U.S. later in the session.
On the day, Swedish packaging materials firm Billerudkorsnas was a top faller, down 5.1 percent and set for its biggest losses in nine months after it warned on its first quarter operating profit.
British online grocer Ocado was down 6.5 percent, the top European faller, after UBS cut its rating on the stock to 'sell' from 'buy'.
Meanwhile upgrades from RBC boosted merging fund managers Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management up 2.8 and 2.7 percent, the top European gainers.
A jump in the price of gold to a five-month high as investors rushed to safe havens sent miner Randgold Resources up 2.1 percent. (Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Vikram Subhedar)
