LONDON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - European shares fell in early trade on Friday, with investors staying cautious ahead of a U.S. jobs report which could determine whether more stimulus measures could be introduced to spur the flagging recovery.
At 0703 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.3 percent at 1,068.24 points, after ending flat in the previous session.
"There is some nervousness. We have seen in the course of the last couple of days that the market is reacting substantially to any indication about the labour statistics," said Luc Van Hecka, chief economist at KBC Securities.
"But fundamentals are still relatively strong and earnings growth has been quite substantial. I suppose that most earnings will be within expectations or slightly above them. It should be supportive for the market."
Energy shares featured among the top decliners, tracking losses in crude oil prices. BP, BG Group, Tullow Oil and Repsol fell 0.2 to 0.4 percent. (Reporting by Harro ten Wolde and Atul Prakash)