Tue Sep 6, 2011 8:32am EDT
* FTSEurofirst 300 index down 1 pct
* Euro zone peripheral worries hit banks
* Swiss stocks gain on SNB intervention
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Tuesday in a choppy session, reversing earlier gains, with banks exposed to the euro zone peripheral among the worst performers as political discord around the handling of the regional debt crisis grew.
There were doubts about Italy and Greece's willingness to push through austerity measures as resistance grew in the countries against their implementation, while paymaster Germany started to take a hardening opposition to further aid.
The worries about the euro zone peripheral debt concerns grew after news that the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble had said Greece may not receive another aid tranche if the delayed "troika" report was not positive.
French bank stocks, which have high exposure to the euro zone peripheral markets were standout losers, with Credit Agricole , BNP Paribas and Societe Generale down 0.9 to 2.6 percent.
Adding to the concerns earlier had been a rise in Italian 10-year yields on worries about the implementation of austerity cuts which are vital to keep European Central Bank support, although they had since fallen back.
"We are negative on banks as they still need to raise more capital," said Colin McLean, managing director of SVM Asset Management. "There is a lot of concerns about the euro zone peripheries and a cloud remains over their balance sheets."
Concerns about European political unity needed to contain the euro zone peripheral debt crisis had been shaken in the previous session after German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition lost ground in a state election on Sunday.
Compounding the worries about political unity in the region was nervousness about a German court ruling on Wednesday about Berlin's involvement in the region's bailout fund.
"Yesterday did quite a lot of damage and opened up more concerns about whether politicians can resolve the euro zone debt crisis," McLean added.
By 1229 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 1 percent at 901.02 points after dropping 6.5 percent in the past two days on recession fears, sparked by Friday's dire U.S. jobs data.
Trade was choppy with the FTSEurofirst 300 having been up as much as 922.08 and down as low as 899.90 points.
SWISS GAINS
The index had earlier been higher, with Swiss stocks flooding the best performers list after the Swiss National Bank said it would set a minimum exchange rate target of 1.20 francs to the euro.
The Swiss index gained 4 percent, in volume 85 that was percent of its 90-day daily average, outperforming the other European indices.
A stronger Swiss franc had posed a risk to the economy and had been hurting exporting stocks.
"Statements from SNB were pretty bold and should ease Swiss franc strength at least for the next weeks," Switzerland-based hedge fund manager Trung-Tin Nguyen at TTN AG said.
"For Swiss stocks good news today on a relative basis ... there are big earnings per share upgrades to come through to consensus if the rate is now 1.20 francs."
Nestle , the world's biggest food group, took the top spot on the , rising 3.5 percent in strong volume at 100 percent its 90-day daily average.
Following closely behind were drug maker Novartis and engineer ABB up 5.6 percent and 6.1 percent respectively also in strong volume nearing their 90-day daily average.
Britain's biggest hotel and coffee-shop operator Whitbread took the top spot on Britain's FTSE 100 index, jumping 6 percent in volume 95 percent of its 90-day daily average after it reported accelerating sales growth. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)
Source
* FTSEurofirst 300 index down 1 pct
* Euro zone peripheral worries hit banks
* Swiss stocks gain on SNB intervention
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Tuesday in a choppy session, reversing earlier gains, with banks exposed to the euro zone peripheral among the worst performers as political discord around the handling of the regional debt crisis grew.
There were doubts about Italy and Greece's willingness to push through austerity measures as resistance grew in the countries against their implementation, while paymaster Germany started to take a hardening opposition to further aid.
The worries about the euro zone peripheral debt concerns grew after news that the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble had said Greece may not receive another aid tranche if the delayed "troika" report was not positive.
French bank stocks, which have high exposure to the euro zone peripheral markets were standout losers, with Credit Agricole , BNP Paribas and Societe Generale down 0.9 to 2.6 percent.
Adding to the concerns earlier had been a rise in Italian 10-year yields on worries about the implementation of austerity cuts which are vital to keep European Central Bank support, although they had since fallen back.
"We are negative on banks as they still need to raise more capital," said Colin McLean, managing director of SVM Asset Management. "There is a lot of concerns about the euro zone peripheries and a cloud remains over their balance sheets."
Concerns about European political unity needed to contain the euro zone peripheral debt crisis had been shaken in the previous session after German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition lost ground in a state election on Sunday.
Compounding the worries about political unity in the region was nervousness about a German court ruling on Wednesday about Berlin's involvement in the region's bailout fund.
"Yesterday did quite a lot of damage and opened up more concerns about whether politicians can resolve the euro zone debt crisis," McLean added.
By 1229 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 1 percent at 901.02 points after dropping 6.5 percent in the past two days on recession fears, sparked by Friday's dire U.S. jobs data.
Trade was choppy with the FTSEurofirst 300 having been up as much as 922.08 and down as low as 899.90 points.
SWISS GAINS
The index had earlier been higher, with Swiss stocks flooding the best performers list after the Swiss National Bank said it would set a minimum exchange rate target of 1.20 francs to the euro.
The Swiss index gained 4 percent, in volume 85 that was percent of its 90-day daily average, outperforming the other European indices.
A stronger Swiss franc had posed a risk to the economy and had been hurting exporting stocks.
"Statements from SNB were pretty bold and should ease Swiss franc strength at least for the next weeks," Switzerland-based hedge fund manager Trung-Tin Nguyen at TTN AG said.
"For Swiss stocks good news today on a relative basis ... there are big earnings per share upgrades to come through to consensus if the rate is now 1.20 francs."
Nestle , the world's biggest food group, took the top spot on the , rising 3.5 percent in strong volume at 100 percent its 90-day daily average.
Following closely behind were drug maker Novartis and engineer ABB up 5.6 percent and 6.1 percent respectively also in strong volume nearing their 90-day daily average.
Britain's biggest hotel and coffee-shop operator Whitbread took the top spot on Britain's FTSE 100 index, jumping 6 percent in volume 95 percent of its 90-day daily average after it reported accelerating sales growth. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)
Source
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