* FTSEurofirst 300 <> falls 0.6 pct
* Airlines fall on Egypt unrest, higher oil price
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - European shares fell in early
trade on Monday, on concern that unrest in Egypt could spread to
other parts of the Middle East and cause oil prices to jump
further.
At 0936 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 0.6 percent at 1,136.67 points, after
falling 1 percent on Friday. The index is on course to record a
gain of 1.3 percent for January.
Airlines and travel operators fell as the unrest in Egypt
disrupted schedules and pushed up oil prices, which will add to
the cost of jet fuel.
Thomas Cook <TCG.L>, Air France <AIRF.PA> and International
Airlines <ICAG.L> fell between 2.9 and 4.2 percent.
Brent crude <LCOc1> hovered just below $100 a barrel on
concern anti-government protests in Egypt could spark
instability elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa, a
region that produces more than a third of the world's oil.
"Egypt wouldn't be a worry in its own right; the worry is
that you would have instability in the oil states. Any
instability is a negative for markets," said Bernard McAlinden,
investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin.
Bucking the trend, Ryanair <RYA.I> rose 1.1 percent after
Europe's biggest low-cost airline said it saw its full-year
profit at the upper end of expectations as rising passenger
numbers and average fares help offset disruption from strike
action and bad weather. []
Some energy shares gained, such as Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L>, up 0.6 percent after an investment recommendation
upgrade by Credit Suisse, but others were mostly lower on
worries that the threat to future growth prospects from wider
unrest in the Middle East would more than offset short-term
price gains.
BP <BP.L> fell 0.5 percent as a row over its dividend looked
likely to overshadow the British company's full-year results as
Russian shareholders in its TNK joint venture convened on Monday
to consider withholding the $1.8 billion payment.
[]
Banks to fall included Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>, Intesa
SanPaolo <ISP.MI>, Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> and Societe
Generale <SOGN.PA>, down between 2 and 2.9 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC40 <> fell between 0.6 and 0.8
percent.
CARREFOUR RISES
Carrefour <CARR.PA> rose 2.2 percent after French newspaper
Le Figaro said the world's No.2 retailer may decide to list
stakes in its property arm and Dia discount business at a board
meeting on March 2.
German retail sales posted a surprise fall in December,
dipping 0.3 percent month-on-month in real terms, preliminary
data showed.
Away from tensions in Egypt, strategists are largely upbeat
on the outlook for markets.
"Corporate confidence is supported by where we are in the
profits cycle and the outlook for corporate profits," said
Evolution Securities in a note.
BP <BP.L> and Banco Santander <SAN.MC> are among major
European companies reporting this week.
(Editing by Will Waterman)
