* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 1 pct, hits 7-week low
* BBVA falls after results, leads banks lower
* For up-to-the minute stocks news, click on [
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - European shares fell in early
trade on Wednesday, hitting a seven-week low, with banks among
the biggest casualties after Wall Street gave up gains to finish
lower overnight.
At 0926 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
European shares was down 1 percent at 1,013.20 points, and had
fallen as far as 1,007.87, its lowest since Dec 11.
The index rose 0.4 percent on Tuesday, snapping a four-day
losing streak. It has lost 5.7 percent since hitting a 15-month
high on Jan 11 but is still up 57 percent from its lifetime low
of March 9.
Spain's second-largest bank BBVA <BBVA.MC> fell 4.5 percent
after posting a 16.1 percent decline in 2009 net profit to 4.21
billion euros ($5.9 billion) as the impact of the global
downturn forced it to make more provisions. [ID:nLDE60Q07R]
Other banks to fall included BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Banco
Santander <SAN.MC>, Barclays <BARC.L>, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>,
UniCredit <CRDI.MI> and UBS <UBSN.VX>, down between 1.7 and 3.9
percent.
U.S. stocks slipped late on Tuesday due to trepidation over
churning political and regulatory developments, offsetting solid
earnings and improved consumer confidence data. The S&P 500
<.SPX> closed 0.4 percent lower.
After European markets close, the Federal Reserve is
expected to announce that it is leaving interest rates
unchanged. U.S. home sales data is due at 1500 GMT.
"There are worries about the Fed phasing out quantitative
easing," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB
Stockbrokers. "There are also still worries about Obama's plans
for banks, and Chinese growth.
"We're well into a major correction now, and this is about
as big as most corrections get. The outlook is for some sideways
trading," he said.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, France's CAC 40
<> and Germany's DAX <> were down between 0.8 and 1.3
percent.
TULLOW SLIPS
London-based oil explorer Tullow Oil <TLW.L> fell 4.4
percent after it launched a placing of 80.4 million shares,
equivalent to 10 percent of its outstanding shares, to pay for
development of assets in Uganda. []
Bigger oil companies also lost ground, as crude prices
<CLc1> edged lower, despite U.S. inventories falling. Total
<TOTF.PA>, ENI <ENI.MI>, BP <BP.L> and Repsol <REP.MC> fell
between 0.8 and 1.7 percent.
A stronger dollar <.DXY>, which hurt oil prices, also
affected metals prices, including copper <MCU3=LX>.
Miners to fall included Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L>, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp <ENRC.L>, Fresnillo
<FRES.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, Lonmin <LMI.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>
and Xstrata <XTA.L>, down between 1.8 and 3.5 percent.
Virtually every sector was lower.
Among individual companies, Novo Nordisk <NOVOb.CO> was one
of the few gainers, up 1.6 percent. The Danish drugmaker was
extending gains from Tuesday when it leapt to an all-time high
after U.S. regulators approved its type 2 diabetes drug Victoza,
which has the potential to be a blockbuster for the company.
[]
In economic data, French consumer confidence improved in
January, though anxieties over future unemployment in the euro
zone's second largest economy increased. []
(Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
