* Graphic: Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh (Updates prices, adds U.S. stock futures)
By Elizabeth Howcroft and Lucy Raitano
LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - European shares edged higher on Friday and were set for a small weekly gain as investors waited for U.S. jobs data to indicate the health of the world's biggest economy, while recession fears receded slightly.
Comments by U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers and news of Chinese fiscal stimulus on Thursday had improved sentiment, analysts said, but this was tempered by news of the shooting of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who died of his injuries on Friday.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller called recession fears "overblown", while St. Louis Fed Bank President James Bullard said he saw a "good chance" of a soft landing for the economy.
But Asian shares gave up some of their gains and the safe-haven Japanese yen rose after news that Abe, Japan's longest-serving leader, had been shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election.
Abe stepped down in 2020 citing ill health, but he has remained a dominant presence over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), controlling one of its major factions.
The longer-term impact of the shooting on markets was unclear, said Guillaume Paillat, multi-asset portfolio manager at Aviva Investors, adding that he did not think it would impact Japan's elections this weekend.
At 1059 GMT, the MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 50 countries, was flat on the day but set for a 1.5% weekly gain overall.
Europe's STOXX 600 was up 0.1%, while France's CAC 40 was 0.6% higher and Germany's DAX was up 0.8% .
U.S. stock futures suggested Wall Street would open a touch lower.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was still up 0.5% on the day, but had retreated from the 8-day high hit earlier in the session.
The Japanese yen reversed earlier gains and was little changed versus the dollar, at 135.88.
The latest indicator of the health of the U.S. economy is due later in the day with the release of U.S. non-farm payrolls data. The consensus expectation is for 268,000 jobs to have been added in May.
"Employment matters because job security underpins the economic recovery," Paul Donovan, chief economist of UBS Global Wealth Management, wrote in a note to clients.
"Today's data should show some slowdown in job creation, but the payrolls and hours worked numbers have recently remained completely inconsistent with any idea of a recession."