* FTSEurofirst 300 index falls 1.1 pct
* But index is up 2.7 percent on the week
* Most banks fall, led by UBS
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - European shares closed lower on
Friday, with nearly all sectors declining as investors on both
sides of the Atlantic took profits after a six-day rally.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares fell 1.1 percent to close at 737.46 points. The index
rose 2.7 percent over the week, and is up 14.2 percent from the
lifetime low to which it sank on March 9.
The DJ Stoxx Banking index <.SX7P> is up more than 47
percent from its March 9 low.
"I would expect the market to tread water following the
strong bounce for financials," said Gerhard Schwarz, head of
global equity strategy at UniCredit, in Munich.
"We need other sectors to take the lead. We are taking a
breather, ahead of the G20 meeting next week, and then it's the
start of the Q1 reporting season."
Shares in Switzerland's UBS <UBSN.VX>, the world's largest
wealth manager in terms of assets, fell 7.3 percent as rumours
swirled of a profit warning and writedowns in the first quarter.
[]
Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> and
Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> fell between 3.3 percent and 7
percent.
However, Barclays <BARC.L> soared 24.1 percent after saying
it does not need to raise any fresh capital after Britain's
financial regulator subjected it to "a detailed stress test" and
was satisfied the bank's balance sheet can withstand more pain.
[]
Shares in British rival Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> were
aided by the news, and added 10.3 percent.
Insurers were mostly lower. Allianz <ALVG.DE>, Aviva <AV.L>,
Prudential <PRU.L>, Swiss Re <RUKN.VX> and Zurich Financial
<ZURN.VX> fell between 2.2 percent and 5.8 percent.
VODAFONE <VOD.L> FALLS
Telecoms giant Vodafone <VOD.L> fell 3.1 percent after Bank
of America cut its price target to 160 pence, from 210 pence.
Energy stocks weighed on the index as crude <CLc1> slipped
more than $2 to $52 a barrel. ENI <ENI.MI>, StatoilHydro
<STL.OL> and Total <TOTF.PA> were 1.2 percent and 3.8 percent
lower.
Autos were among the few gainers, boosted by optimism from
Asia after South Korea announced tax incentives and easier
consumer financing to support its car industry. []
Daimler <DAIGn.DE>, BMW <BMWG.DE>, Peugeot <PEUP.PA> and
Fiat <FIA.MI> rose 2.3 percent to 3.6 percent.
Societe Generale raised its recommendation on the European
auto sector to "overweight" from "neutral".
"After significant underperformance, the auto sector is
ready to rebound and now is the right time to buy the auto
sector," SocGen analysts said in a note.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> fell between 0.7 percent
and 1.8 percent.
Wall Street was lower as European bourses were closing. The
Dow Jones <>, S&P 500 <.SPX> and Nasdaq Composite <>
were down between 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent.
Investors locked in recent gains, despite mildly upbeat
economic news, after the S&P's close on Thursday was up 23.1
percent from its 12-year low of March 9.
U.S. consumer spending rose for a second straight month in
February, while incomes reversed the previous month's gains,
government data showed on Friday. []
U.S. consumer confidence rose in March, nudged higher by
improved confidence in government economic policy, though
overall sentiment was gloomy and remained near an all-time low,
according to the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of
Consumers []
Europe's benchmark index is still down 11.4 percent in 2009.
Schwarz said he expected the second quarter to be better than
the first for European shares, helped by U.S. Treasury Secretary
Tim Geithner's plan for banks' toxic assets.
(Additional reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Sharon
Lindores)
