European shares slip on banks; Greek concerns

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 index closes down 0.9 pct
                                
 * Banks under pressure; BBVA results weigh
                                
 * Commodities slip as prices retreat
                                
 By Joanne Frearson
                                
 LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - European shares fell on
Wednesday, with banks the main drag following badly-received
quarterly results from Spanish lender BBVA <BBVA.MC> and
investor concerns over Greece's fiscal problems.
                                
 The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of leading European
shares closed down 0.9 percent at 1,013.83 points. The index is
down around 3 percent so far this month and is on track to post
its worst monthly performance since the recovery started in
March.
                                
 Banks featured among the worst performers. BBVA fell 6.4
percent after it said its bad loans ratio rose nearly one
percentage point in the fourth quarter from the third.
[ID:nLDE60Q07R]
                                
 Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, HSBC <HSBA.L> and Barclays
<BARC.L> lost 1.6 to 5.1 percent, while Greece's Alpha Bank
<ACBr.AT>, Bank of Piraeus <BOPr.AT> and National Bank of Greece
<NBGr.AT> fell 5.6 to 7.9 percent.
                                
 "We cannot hold the gains which is not a good sign ...
Greece is a great problem," said Giuseppe-Guido Amato,
strategist at Lang & Schwarz in Frankfurt.
                                
 "If the uncertainty related to Greece is increasing then you
see the dollar firm against the bunds. The strengthening of the
dollar is correlated with falling markets."
                                
 The dollar rose to a six-month high against the euro on
concerns over Greece's fiscal problems, while the spread of the
10-year Greek bond yield over benchmark German Bunds rose to its
highest since Greece adopted the euro currency in 2001.
[ID:nN27174568]
                                
 Investor sentiment was knocked after Greece denied press
reports to sell up to 25 billion euros ($35 billion) of bonds to
China. [ID:nLDE60Q0Y4]
                                
 
                                
 COMMODITIES UNDER PRESSURE
                                
 Energy stocks were under pressure after crude <CLc1> edged
below $75 a barrel as the dollar rose. BG Group <BG.L>, BP
<BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and Total <TOTF.PA> fell 1.1
to 2.4 percent.
                                
 Mining stocks were lower as metal prices retreated, with
copper <MCU3=LX> down 2.1 percent. Anglo American <AAL.L>,
Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L>
slipped 0.4 to 3.2 percent.
                                
 "A big part of the recovery has already been priced in, so
equities don't react to good news anymore, but react to any
piece of negative news," said Pierre Sabatier, president and
head of strategy at PrimeView in Paris.
                                
 "Even if monetary policy remains extremely favourable and
corporate results are improving, the market was ripe for a
correction. Historically, very few market rebounds, as strong as
this one, didn't experience a correction of at least 10 percent
at some point."
                                
 In economic news, sales of newly built U.S. single-family
homes fell unexpectedly in December, data showed, the latest
indication that the government-led housing recovery might be
losing some steam. [ID:nN26112107]
                                
 At 1915 GMT investors will watch the conclusion of the
Federal Open Market Committee two-day meeting that is expected
to yield few policy shifts.
                                
 Investors will be looking for clues on how long it will
leave ultra-low interest rates and easy-money policy in place.
[ID:nN26106537]
                                
  Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index lost 1.1 percent,
Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> fell 0.5 percent and France's CAC 40
<.FCHI> slipped 1.2 percent.
  (Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Mike
Nesbit)