* FTSEurofirst 300 index down 0.4 pct
* Banks, commodities weigh
* Telcos up; TeliaSonera, BT Group rise
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - European shares fell in early
trade on Thursday, led lower by banks and commodities stocks,
as investors awaited euro zone industrial production numbers and
U.S. weekly jobless figures.
By 0934 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 0.4 percent at 1,009.82 points after
touching a three-week high in the previous session.
"I suspect investors will be looking at the industrial
production figures today which will probably show a fairly split
picture between core Europe and the rest. I think that is going
to weigh on what is happening," said Justin Urquhart Stewart,
director at Seven Investment Management.
"U.S. jobless figures are going to be crucial to the level
of confidence coming through. I suspect it is still going to
show a little weakness but not quite as bad as expected."
Banks took the most points off the index. Societe Generale
<SOGN.PA>, HSBC <HSBA.L> and BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> were down 0.5
to 2 percent.
Energy stocks featured among the declines as crude <CLc1>
slipped 0.5 percent. BG Group <BG.L>, BP <BP.L> and Total
<TOTF.PA> were down 0.5 to 0.9 percent.
Mining stocks retreated after early gains as copper
<MCU3=LX> prices fell 1 percent. BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Rio Tinto
<RIO.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L> were down 0.8 to 2 percent.
Utilities were lower. France's GDF Suez <GSZ.PA> and
Germany's RWE <RWEG.DE> were down 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent
after they both reported earnings for the first nine months of
the year that were slightly below market expectations.
[]
AB INBEV FALLS
Shares in AB InBev <ABI.BR> dropped 2 percent after mixed
third-quarter results, with lower revenue than expected but
higher core profit and guidance described as "solid" by one
analyst. []
Telecom groups featured among the biggest movers.
TeliaSonera <TLSN.ST> gained 5.2 percent after it said it had
agreed with Russia's Alfa Group to combine holdings in mobile
operators MegaFon in Russia and Turkcell <TCELL.IS> in Turkey.
Britain's BT Group <BT.L> rose 4.4 percent after it
increased its revenue and dividend forecast for the full year
after stringent cost cuts helped the former telecoms monopoly to
beat second quarter core earnings expectations. []
"The boost in full-year 2010 guidance across many key fronts
-- top-line performance, cost-control performance and free cash
flow generation -- will play strongly in the market and boost
sentiment towards BT," Daiwa analyst Michael Kovacocy said.
At 1000 GMT, investors will watch euro zone industrial
production for September, while at 1330 is the release of U.S.
weekly jobless claims.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was down 0.2
percent, Germany's DAX <> fell 0.5 percent and France's
CAC 40 <> was 0.5 percent lower.
(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Hans Peters)
