* FTSEurofirst 300 drops 0.4 pct, falls 2.5 pct on the week
* Retailers, tech stocks hit by warnings from bellwethers
* Energy, mining shares rise along with commodity prices
By Blaise Robinson
PARIS, June 27 (Reuters) - European stocks fell on Friday as
profit warnings by retail bellwether Carrefour <CARR.PA> and
mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson rattled investors and added to
worries over record oil prices.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
closed the roller-coaster session 0.4 percent lower at 1,192.24
points, its lowest close since October 2005.
Carrefour shares sank 7.8 percent, hitting their lowest
level in more than three years after the world's second biggest
retailer issued a profit warning.
French rival Casino <CASP.PA> shed 8.3 percent, while Ahold
<AHLN.AS> fell 3.4 percent, Sainsbury <SBRY.L> lost 2 percent
and Metro AG <MEOG.DE> dropped 1.2 percent.
"I remain very bearish on stocks, even at current prices,"
said Christian Jimenez, president of IMENE Investment Partners,
in Paris. "We're seeing retailers getting punished as consumers'
wallets are getting hit by high oil prices. They pay more at the
pump and they have less money to spend."
Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson warned it would make no
profit in the second quarter due to weaker demand for its more
expensive phones.
The news sent shares in co-owner Ericsson <ERICb.ST> down
7.6 percent, while rival Nokia <NOK1V.HE> dropped 4.5 percent,
and France's Alcatel <ALUA.PA> shed 3.2 percent.
Banking stocks, which have been hammered over the past year
by worries over a meltdown in the U.S. subprime mortgage market,
lost ground on Friday, with UBS <UBSN.VX> down 2.5 percent and
BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> down 1.9 percent.
"The financial crisis is far from over. More capital
increases from banks will be necessary, but investors will
become more and more reluctant to provide them," Jimenez said.
On the upside, mining and energy shares advanced as U.S.
crude oil futures remained above $140 and metal prices rose.
Total <TOTF.PA> gained 2 percent, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> added 2.5
percent and Anglo American <AAL.L> gained 2.8 percent.
INDEX DOWN
On the week, the FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 2.5 percent,
recording a 16th week of losses out of 26 weeks so far in 2008.
The index is down 21 percent year-to-date, hit by fears of a
U.S. recession, rising inflation and a crisis in the credit
market.
"People are closely watching inflation data. As long as we
don't come back to more muted inflation figures and that house
prices in the U.S. and Europe stop falling, it is difficult to
see how the market could really bounce back," said Benoit De
Broissia, analyst at Richelieu Finance in Paris.
"But that being said, stocks are close to reaching a floor,
and, unless we get a really deep U.S. recession, there is a
potential on the upside. But for now visibility remains quite
poor."
Germany's DAX index <> fell 0.6 percent, UK's FTSE 100
index <> gained 0.2 percent, helped by rallying heavyweight
commodity-related stocks, and France's CAC 40 <> shed 0.7
percent.
(Editing by Paul Bolding)
