European shares slip as healthcare stocks weigh, France in focus

European shares slipped in choppy trading on Friday, weighed by a drop in healthcare stocks, while investors also braced for Fitch's credit rating verdict on France later in the day.

After rising nearly 0.2% earlier in the day, the pan-European STOXX 600 reversed course and was last down 0.2% to 554.8 points, as of 0845 GMT. Healthcare stocks weighed the most, slipping 0.6%.

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis lost 2.6% after Goldman Sachs' downgrade, citing rising competition from generics.

Luxury stocks also declined 1% with L.V.M.H  and Richemont  down 0.5% and 1.6%, respectively after brokerage UBS said it was "a least preferred sector".

However, on a weekly basis, the benchmark index was on track for its first rise in three weeks after U.S. labour data on Thursday cemented market expectations of a Fed rate cut next week.

"The U.S. is facing a weaker labour market that is now overpowering the inflationary impact of the tariffs," said Craig Cameron, portfolio manager at Templeton Global Equity Group.

"So there's obviously various different factors pushing and pulling on that, but our expectation is at least one rate cut in September."

Focus has been greater on U.S. monetary policy as eurozone inflation hovers close to the European Central Bank's 2% target and investors see a potential policy easing only sometime next year. The ECB left interest rates unchanged on Thursday and offered no clues about its next move.