* FTSEurofirst 300 index ends down 0.4 pct
* Weighed by talk of fresh rate rise in China
* Commodity stocks main losers
* G20 support boosts peripheral euro zone stocks
* Renewed talk of Ireland bailout caps gains
By Simon Jessop
LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - European shares ended lower on
Friday after talk of an interest rate rise in China unnerved
investors and sent macro-sensitive commodity stocks tumbling,
while gains in the euro zone periphery helped cap losses.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> closed down 0.4 percent at
1,103.99 points, off a low of 1,088.36, with shares in Ireland,
Spain and Portugal supported by an overnight pledge of fiscal
support from euro zone leaders. []
Chinese stocks had closed more than 5 percent lower, their
biggest one-day slide in over a year, on speculation the central
bank would raise rates again to combat inflation.
[] []
"The developing nations in Asia really did contribute to the
upswing in the global economy, led by China, and now China is
applying the restraint, and not just selectively as it was
before," Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin
Securities, said.
The China talk led many investors to "take some profits off
the table" ahead of the weekend, with G20 leaders still meeting
in South Korea, added Kishan Mandalia, trader at City Index.
Commodity stocks took the biggest hit across Europe on
investor concern higher interest rates in China would hit
economic growth, with front-month copper <CMCU3>, zinc <CMZN3>,
aluminium <CMAL3> and nickel <CMNI3> all firmly in the red.
Leading the charge to the downside in the 2.1 percent weaker
STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index <.SXPP> were miner
Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> and steelmaker Salzgitter <SZGG.DE>, both of
which ended down more than 3 percent.
Similarly, crude price falls on the growth fears fuelled a
1.5 percent fall in the STOXX Europe 600 Oil & Gas <.SXEP>
index, with BG Group <BG.L> down 1.8 percent.
The technical outlook for regional blue-chips to the end of
the year remains bullish, however, in spite of the Eurostoxx
50's <> 0.3 percent fall, said Philippe Delabarre,
technical analyst at Paris-based Trading Central.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ireland's bailout challenge http://r.reuters.com/wuv48p
European bank exposure to Irish debt: []
Europe's peripheral indexes lag []
Graph on euro zone struggle with debt:
http://r.reuters.com/hyb65p
G20 Take a Look: []
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
PERIPHERAL REBOUND
Peripheral euro zone stock markets rose for most of the day,
recovering some lost ground against core Europe, after
politicians reassured holders of sovereign bonds in those
countries they would not be hit should a bailout be needed.
Portugal's PSI20 <> and Spain's IBEX 35 <> ended
up 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent respectively, though fresh talk
Ireland could tap European bailout funds took the shine off its
early gains and the ISEQ <.ISEQ> ended up 0.1 percent.
[]
The gains for the periphery come off a low base, as most
indexes have lagged their core-Europe peers, said Philippe
Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets,
in Brussels.
Elsewhere among heavyweight sectors, the STOXX Europe 600
Banks <.SX7P> index ended up 0.4 percent, led by Irish lenders
Allied Irish Banks <ALBK.I>, up 16 percent, and Bank of Ireland
<BKIR.I>, up 7 percent.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index ended down 0.3
percent, Germany's DAX <> was up 0.1 percent and France's
CAC 40 <> was down 0.9 percent.
(Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by David Hulmes)
