* FTSEurofirst 300 index down 0.5 pct
* Oils fall as crude moves towards $73 a barrel
* Banks slip over ongoing Basel concerns
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - European shares closed lower on
Friday, with banks falling as ongoing concerns about tough new
Basel regulations weighed and oils down after crude prices
retreated.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of leading European
shares closed 0.5 percent lower at 1,013.15 points in a choppy
session after being up as much as 1,028.34.
The index is up 57 percent since reaching a record low in
early March and is up 22 percent for the year.
"Volumes are low so you tend to get some spikes here and
there. People are still getting out of banks because of
yesterday's weakness," said Joshua Raymond, market strategist at
City Index.
"Historically from today you will see the weakest volumes
for the whole year from now until the New Year. A lot of people
are just winding down their positions and will come back in the
New Year."
Banks were the worst performers continuing their decline
from the previous session. Barclays <BARC.L>, Credit Agricole
<CAGR.PA>, UBS <UBSN.VX> and Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> fell
3 to 7.1 percent.
Oil stocks retreated from earlier gains as crude <CLc1>
moved closer to $73 a barrel. Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, Repsol
<REP.MC> and Total <TOTF.PA> were down 0.4 to 1.8 percent.
DRUGMAKERS GAIN
Drugmakers were on the upside. Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> rose
2.4 percent after the French drugmaker said on Thursday it aims
to double sales at its Sanofi Pasteur vaccines business by 2013.
[]
Software providers were in demand. SAP <SAPG.DE> gained 2.1
percent after its main rival Oracle <ORCL.O> reported a surprise
increase in new software sales and said growth could accelerate
this quarter as corporate IT spending picks up.
"Investors have been reluctant to allow the market to trade
down very far," said Mike Lenhoff, strategist at Brewin Dolphin,
in London.
"When there's a sell-off, it seems there are investors
coming back in there, though volumes are lower."
Macroeconomic indicators were mixed, with German business
sentiment rising in December, hitting its highest level since
July 2008. The Munich-based Ifo thinktank said its business
climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms,
rose to 94.7 from 93.9 in November. []
But a survey showed that French company bosses were less
confident about their prospects in December, adding to signs
that the economic recovery is fragile. []
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was down 0.4
percent, Germany's DAX <> was 0.2 percent lower and
France's CAC 40 <> fell 1 percent.
(Additional reporting by Brian Gorman; Editing by Jon
Loades-Carter)
