* Second quarter starts with a whimper
* Japanese manufacturing gloom sets the tone
* U.S. non-farm payrolls the big event Friday
By Jamie McGeever
LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) - Gloomy Japanese manufacturing data on Friday ensured a downbeat start to the second quarter, driving stocks and oil lower and supporting safe-haven assets like gold and the Japanese yen.
Still bruised from a turbulent first quarter, investors took their cue from the Japanese data rather than more encouraging figures from China's manufacturers, before the pivotal U.S. payrolls report later in the day.
Japan's Nikkei sank 3.5 percent in its steepest daily fall since mid-February, dragging down shares across Asia. That set the bearish tone for Europe, where the main indices were all down more than 1 percent in early trading.
The pan-European index of leading 300 shares fell to a one-month low of 1,303 points and U.S. stock futures signalled a decline of around 0.5 percent when trading opens .
"Normally, we could expect some sort of upside in the wake of better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing numbers. Certainly if they were poor, we'd be looking at a major downdraft in equities," said Brenda Kelly, head analyst at London Capital Group. "But the focus appears to be on the negative."
Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 were both down around 1.7 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was down 1.2 percent.
Financials and insurance stocks were among the biggest decliners, led by a 9 percent fall in Zurich Insurance, as its shares traded without the attraction of its latest dividend payout.
Earlier in Asia, a profit-dampening rise in the yen and selling by hedge funds for the new financial year weighed on Japanese stocks. But the real blow came from a survey of major manufacturers by the Bank of Japan, which found sentiment at its lowest in nearly three years.
The report crystallised concerns that the BOJ's shift to negative rates was not working. It also outweighed positive surveys from China that showed factory activity growing for the first time in nine months and a much needed pick-up in services .
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 1.5 percent.
MARCH PAYROLLS MADNESS
The tepid start to the second quarter follows a wild first quarter that saw stocks plunge on global growth fears, then rebound as major central banks took ever more aggressive stimulus steps.
The latest twist was this week's surprisingly dovish tone from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, which saw investors further scale back expectations for how far and fast U.S. interest rates would rise in coming years.