European shares dip ahead of US jobs data; Volkswagen jumps

European shares ticked lower on Friday ahead of closely watched U.S. jobs data, while Volkswagen's shares rallied after ‌the automaker announced a major transformation plan. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.2% at 648.08 points by 0838 GMT. Germany's DAX inched 0.1% lower, London's FTSE dropped 0.2% and France's CAC 40 also dipped 0.2%.

Volkswagen gained 5.7%, the ‌top gainer in the DAX index, after the supervisory board of Europe's largest automaker struck a turnaround ‌agreement that averted an escalation with unions and shareholder Lower Saxony. The broader European autos index jumped 4.3%.

The automaker faces pressure from U.S. import tariffs, a stagnant European market as well as aggressive Chinese rivals that have all hurt its margin and ⁠hammered the ​stock. Despite Friday's gain, its ⁠shares down more than 20% so far this year. "It definitely is a move in the right direction but it's going ⁠to take more than just this announcement for us to see a really sustained share price recovery," said Fiona ​Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index.

European banking stocks fell 0.7%, reversing some of their recent strong ⁠gains after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller's comments on Thursday eased concerns about a tighter monetary policy. "His comments just helped the markets ⁠rein ​in Federal Reserve rate hike expectation," said City Index's Cincotta.

Investors await the August U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due to be released later in the day. Meanwhile, Brent crude traded around $96 a barrel and ⁠was on track for its steepest weekly gain since mid-July.

European economies are vulnerable to rising oil prices because ⁠of their reliance on ⁠energy imports. J.P. Morgan and BNP Paribas said they expect the European Central Bank to deliver another 25-basis-point rate hike in December, as elevated energy prices strengthen ‌the case for further ‌tightening.