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London - European shares fell on Friday, setting them on course for a weekly loss, as investors were unnerved by conflicting signals from Greece's debt talks and data showing private loan growth in the eurozone stalled last month.
Athens' benchmark share index fell 0.5% while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 shed 0.7% to 1 603.86 points by 12:23.
The FTSEurofirst is down 0.9% so far in a week that has been marked by uncertainty surrounding Greece's negotiations with its international lenders ahead of a payment deadline for Athens looming next week. The index is still up around 1.8% for the month.
Greece's government intends to reach an agreement on a cash-for-reforms deal by Sunday, its spokesperson said on Thursday, even as eurozone officials suggested a deal was far from imminent and the head of the International Monetary Fund was quoted as saying the country could leave the currency bloc.
The lack of clarity on the outcome meant some traders were reluctant to make strong bets on future market directions.
"It's just Greece, Greece and Greece," David Madden, a market analyst at IG, said. "The lack of news in either direction tells you why traders are sitting on their hands."
European indexes extended losses after data showed eurozone private sector loans stopped rising in April.
"The lending data shows a lack of risk attitude among businesses," said Brenda Kelly, head analyst at London Capital Group.
Associated British Foods was the biggest gainer on the pan-European index, adding 2.4% to reach two-month highs after Goldman Sachs ramped up its rating to "buy" from "sell".
Mergers & acquisition speculation boosted Swiss agrochemicals company Syngenta, which was building up defenses for a possible higher bid from US peer Monsanto , according to a Bloomberg report. Syngenta shares were up 1.1%.
Swedish builder Skanska rose 0.8% after it said its LaGuardia Gateway Partners consortium had been selected as preferred bidder in a $3.6bn project to build a new terminal at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
