* FTSEurofirst 300 index drops 3.3 pct
* Financials hit by Dubai worries
* Commods slip as metal, crude prices retreat
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - European shares slipped 3.3
percent on Thursday to record their biggest one-day percentage
drop in seven months as concerns about debt problems in Dubai
weighed on the market, with banks the major fallers.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares closed down 33.81 points at 988.14 -- its lowest close in
three weeks.
"The Dubai worries have played a major role in rattling
market sentiment at a time when the U.S. is closed and we are
not getting anything from anywhere else," said Peter Dixon,
economist at Commerzbank.
"It is a day in which market uncertainty has been provoked
again. I do not think it really reflects the underlying
fundamentals of the economy and the market, it is just a
sentiment shock."
Dubai, whose extravagant building projects have been largely
put on hold since the start of the global financial crisis, said
on Wednesday it would ask creditors at its flagship firms Dubai
World and property developer Nakheel to delay repayment on
billions of dollars of debt. []
Banks took the most points off the index on concerns about
their potential exposure to debt problems in Dubai.
HSBC <HSBA.L>, Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, BNP Paribas
<BNPP.PA>, Barclays <BARC.L> and Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> were
down 3.3 to 8 percent.
Other financials moved lower on Dubai exposure concerns.
London Stock Exchange <LSE.L> fell 7.4 percent and Dutch insurer
Aegon <AEGN.AS> lost 7.7 percent.
INFORMA, PORSCHE HIT BY DUBAI WORRIES
Shares in publishing and events group Informa <INF.L>, which
has many Middle Eastern trade fairs, fell about 9.8 percent.
Porsche <PSHG_p.DE> lost 5.1 percent as traders pointed to
worries that Qatar Investment Authority may cut its 10 percent
stake in the carmaker to boost liquidity after the Dubai
government asked for a debt standstill on two of its firms.
Oil stocks featured among the worst performers as oil fell
2.3 percent. BG Group <BG.L>, BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L> and Total <TOTF.PA> were down 2.4 to 3.6 percent.
Miners slipped as metal prices retreated. Anglo American
<AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Eurasian
Natural Resources Corporation <ENRC.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and
Xstrata <XTA.L> were 4.2 to 6.8 percent lower.
"It shows how vulnerable the market still is to newsflow,"
she said. "But it should be seen as a country-specific issue.
It's not something systemic. It's about risk appetite," said
Georgina Taylor, equity strategist, Legal & General Investment
Management.
"It's a reason for some of those involved in the market to
scale back a bit, while we try to understand what's going on."
Meanwhile, share trading on the London Stock Exchange was
halted for more than three hours in mid morning trade following
a technical glitch. []
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was down 3.2
percent, Germany's DAX <> was 3.3 percent lower and
France's CAC 40 <> was down 3.4 percent.
(additional reporting by Brian Gorman; editing by Elaine
Hardcastle)
((joanne.frearson@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 2773, Reuters
Messaging:joanne.frearson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
