European stocks opened flat on Friday in cautious trade ahead of U.S. April jobs data, supported by gains in Royal Bank of Scotland after its recent deal to buy a bank in the United States. French oil major Total was also in focus after reporting an eight percent fall in first quarter profits, stung by the strength of the euro against the dollar. The company, at the centre of mounting speculation that it is preparing to buy a 25 percent stake in Russian oil company Sibneft , reported a net profit of 1.96 billion euros, slightly above analysts' forecasts of 1.89 billion euros.
Its shares dipped 0.19 percent to 156.40 euros. By 0720 GMT, the FTSE Eurotop 300 index <.FTEU3>, which tracks the region's top 300 shares, was flat at 994.18 points. The narrower DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index <.STOXX50E> of euro zone blue chips, eased 0.15 percent to 2,761 points. Investors will be paying close attention to U.S. April jobs data, due to be published at 1230 GMT, for clues on the timing of any decision by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. "Jobless and inventories data out of the U.S. this afternoon will once again be keenly watched," said Matthew Buckland, a trader at the CMC Group. "Anticipation of strong jobless figures already pushing the dollar higher in anticipation of higher U.S. interest rates." Royal Bank of Scotland led the blue-chip gainers, rising 0.91 percent to 1,656 pence, after Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein raised its price target on the stock to 2,100 pence. On the German corporate front, Degussa and Deutsche Boerse both reported higher-than-expected first quarter earnings. Shares in Italian airline Alitalia were suspended limit-up after a new head for the airline was named. The government had sacked senior executives at the loss-making state-controlled airline on Thursday.///