Europe shrugs off disappointing US data EUROPE'S main stock markets have mostly shrugged off disappointing US jobs data suggesting the recovery in the world's top economy isn't as strong as hoped. London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares dropped 0.51 per cent to end Friday at 6,647.87 points. But Frankfurt's DAX 30 was essentially stable, slipping 0.05 per cent to 8,406.94 points, while the CAC 40 in Paris squeezed out a gain of 0.07 per cent to 4,045.65 points. Milan shed 0.24 per cent but Madrid gained 0.40 per cent. The euro rose to $1.3278 from $1.3208 late in New York on Thursday. The dollar slid to 98.88 yen from 99.52 yen. On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold dropped to $1,309.25 an ounce from $1,315 on Thursday. Official data released on Friday showed the US unemployment rate fell to a better-than-expected 7.4 per cent in July from 7.6 per cent in June but jobs growth disappointed. The Labor Department reported the United States added 162,000 jobs last month, well below the 175,000 expected on average by analysts. On Thursday, the Institute for Supply Management's PMI index showed US manufacturing activity surged to the highest level for more than two years in July. The data introduce "further uncertainty into the timing and amount of any Fed tapering program, with expectations of a September taper starting to diminish," said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets UK. US stocks slid on the jobs data. In midday trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.21 per cent at 15,595.66 points. The broad-market S&P 500 shed 0.14 per cent at 1,704.43 points, pulling back from Thursday's record closing high. And the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.05 per cent to 3,673.83 points. Meanwhile in London, shares in Royal Bank of Scotland slid 3.3 per cent to 322.5 pence despite the state-rescued lender returning to profit in the first half. The bank itself admitted that much work remained before RBS can return to the private sector, while the lender announced also that it had promoted the head of its retail business, Ross McEwan, to the post of chief executive, beginning in October.