EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Waver On Shutdown Day Four

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets struggled for direction on Friday, but mostly headed for weekly losses as the U.S. government shutdown moved into its fourth day amid budget wrangling in Washington.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.1% to 309.11, on track for a third straight day of losses. On the week, the benchmark was poised to close 1% lower.

Shares of Nokian Renkaat Oyj slumped 7.3% after the tire maker warned sales and operating profit in 2013 will be lower than previously estimated, due to a weaker Russian ruble exchange rate and softer Russian demand for tires.

Mining firms were also on the decline, as metals prices were mixed. Shares of BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) slipped 0.5%, and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) gave up 0.%.

The moves in Europe came as lawmakers in the U.S. scrambled to pass a budget for the new fiscal year, which started on Tuesday. President Barack Obama said late Thursday he has canceled plans for a weeklong trip to Asia amid the budget debacle.

Investors worry that the impasse will have an impact on discussions about raising the country's debt ceiling in mid-October, but House Speaker John Boehner indicated on Thursday he is willing to work with Democrats to pass an increase in the borrowing limit. U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street.

Due to the shutdown, the monthly nonfarm-payrolls report won't be released on Friday as scheduled.

Among country-specific indexes in Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 0.1% to 6,454.32, while Germany's DAX 30 index slipped 0.1% to 8,593.20. France's CAC 40 index moved 0.5% higher to 4,148.61.

Italy's FTSE MIB index rallied 1.2% to 18,229.40, as a Senate hearing on whether to expel former leader Silvio Berlusconi from the upper house after his conviction for tax fraud got under way. The meeting on Friday comes two days after Berlusconi abandoned an attempt to topple the coalition government of Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta in a parliamentary vote of confidence.

The Senate committee could deliver its verdict as soon as Friday afternoon and after that the Senate will hold a full vote on whether the PDL leader should lose his seat, likely around two weeks later.

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