European stocks fall as oil prices close in on 54 dollars

LONDON (AFP) - European stock markets struggled in trading, weighed down by record high oil prices which raced towards 54 dollars a barrel in New York.
The London FTSE 100 index fell 0.07 percent to 4,695.80 points on Monday, with the Paris CAC 40 losing 0.35 percent to 3,724.67 points, while the Frankfurt DAX 30 edged up 0.02 percent to 4,016.35 in early afternoon deals.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares declined 0.25 percent to 2,809.49 points.
The euro stood at 1.2393 dollars.
In London oil stocks won support from record high crude prices, with energy giant BP winning 0.18 percent to 552.5 pence and rival Shell rising 0.48 percent to 423 pence.
But airlines felt the pressure, with British Airways losing 0.24 percent to 206 pence. The carrier's marketing and sales chief Martin George said the runaway price of oil was creating an "extremely serious situation" for BA.
"The situation is extremely serious," George was quoted as saying by the German business daily Handelsblatt.
The price of reference light sweet crude for November delivery rose 32 cents to reach a new summit of 53.63 dollars a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Elsewhere, British supermarket chain J Sainsbury fell 1.19 percent to 249 pence after issuing its third profit warning of the year.
There was better news for Manchester United, whose share price jumped 4.23 percent to 283.5 pence after weekend press reports suggested that US sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer could launch a takeover bid for the English football giants this week after securing financing and making contact with the club's largest shareholders.
Wall Street and Tokyo's stock market were shut Monday due to US and Japanese public holidays.
US stocks tumbled Friday after a disappointing US jobs report for September raised fears of an economic slowdown and as record high oil prices weighed on sentiment, dealers said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.69 percent to 10,055.20 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slid 1.47 percent to 1,919.97.
The broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 index retreated 0.75 percent to 1,122.14.
Data showing the US economy added 96,000 jobs in September disappointed most forecasters and suggested the economy was not growing fast enough to absorb new labor market entrants.
Also hurting sentiment, New York's main crude oil contract closed above 53 dollars for the first time Friday, up 53 cents at 53.31 dollars a barrel amid concern over global supplies and a strike threat in Nigeria.
New York oil prices eased slightly Monday, down 26 cents to 53.05 dollars in electronic trading, despite the start of a four-day general strike in Nigeria, a major producer of crude.
Pledges over the weekend by Gulf oil ministers to meet rising world demand for oil has helped to cool prices slightly, dealers said.
In Asia, Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index closed 0.48 percent higher on Monday at 13,305.13 points.