* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 0.4 pct on mixed earnings
* Unilever drops as results fail to impress
* Royal Dutch Shell's earnings boost energy stocks
By Blaise Robinson
PARIS, July 31 (Reuters) - European shares drifted lower
early on Thursday as investors digested a raft of mixed
corporate results.
The drop was limited by a rally in energy shares after Royal
Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> posted a rise in quarterly results.
Unilever <ULVR.L> shares fell 6.6 percent after the
company's results figures failed to impress the market.
"Someone thought they were going to be cracking figures this
morning and a lot of analysts upgraded expectations yesterday,
which is why they have had a decent run in the last couple of
days ... but they didn't meet them and they're getting quite
bashed today," a London-based trader said.
Spanish utility Union Fenosa <UNF.MC> jumped 9.2 percent
after rival Gas Natural <GAS.MC> agreed to buy a leading stake
in the company from ACS <ACS.MC> and then launched a full
takeover bid. Gas Natural fell 5.7 percent and ACS rose 5.3
percent.
Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> was down 1.2 percent after saying
it made a further $3.6 billion of writedowns in the second
quarter, taking its bill from the global financial crisis beyond
$11 billion.
British telecoms group BT <BT.L> slumped 11 percent after
the group disappointed the market with first-quarter earnings
slightly below forecasts and many key indicators below
expectations.
At 0803 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 0.4 percent at 1,176.35 points.
Energy shares rose after Royal Dutch Shell results and as
oil prices bounced back. Shell, which reported a 5 percent rise
in second-quarter current cost of supply (CCS) net income to
$7.9 billion on the back of high oil prices, gained 0.9 percent,
while Total <TOTF.PA> added 2 percent and BP <BP.L> added 2.3
percent.
On the macro front, investors will keep a close eye on euro
zone July inflation numbers, due at 0900 GMT, as well as U.S.
second-quarter GDP, due at 1230 GMT. Economists polled by
Reuters expect on average 2.0 percent annualised growth in the
world's largest economy.
"The U.S. GDP figures expected this afternoon should not be
too bad, so that helps corporate results for multinationals,"
said Yann Lepape, chief global macro strategist at Oddo
Securities in Paris.
"But beyond that, there are a lot of uncertainties
surrounding the outlook for the third and fourth quarters in
both the U.S. and Europe."
Pharmaceuticals group Sanofi-Aventis SA <SASY.PA> fell 6.8
percent, after posting lower-than-expected second-quarter sales
and profit but modestly raised its 2008 earnings per share
forecast, helped by cost cutting.
UK lender HBOS <HBOS.L> rose 4.6 percent after posting
results that beat expectations.
France Telecom <FTE.PA> rose 2.9 percent after saying it
would pay an interim dividend for the first time ever as it
posted first-half underlying profit which slightly surpassed
expectations.
Solvay <SOLB.BR> sank 10 percent after the chemicals and
drugs maker reported a worse than expected fall in
second-quarter profits, hit by energy and raw material costs.
Technip <TECF.PA> gained 6.5 percent after posting a 29
percent rise in second-quarter net profit, driven by subsea
projects for the oil and gas industry.
Germany's DAX index <> lost 0.3 percent, UK's FTSE 100
index <> fell 0.4 percent and France's CAC 40 <> shed
0.4 percent.
(Additional reporting by Michael Taylor in London; Editing by
Paul Bolding)
