LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Weaker than expected U.S. jobs data knocked European stocks into negative territory and set Wall Street up for a losing start on Friday.
The price of U.S. Treasuries rose and the dollar fell sharply to around half a percent weaker against a basket of major currencies.
Nonfarm payrolls rose 39,000, with private hiring gaining only 50,000, the U.S. Labor Department said.
Overall employment for September and October was revised to show 38,000 more jobs than previously estimated. The unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent.
Economists had expected payrolls to increase 140,000 last month and the unemployment rate to be unchanged at 9.6 percent.
The FTSEurofirst 300 stocks index was down around a third of a percent after the news compared with a quarter of a percent gain beforehand.
The dollar was down half a percent against a basket of major competitor currencies.
(Editing by Ruth Pitchford)