Europe shares fall 1 pct early on earnings worries

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 falls 1 percent
                                
 * Earnings concerns underlined by Alcoa losses
                                
 * Banks among biggest losers
                                
 * Pernod Ricard falls on rights issue plans
                                
 
                                
 By Brian Gorman
                                
 LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - European shares fell early on
Wednesday, putting them on track for their fourth straight day
of losses, as investors worried about company earnings and
financials weakened.
                                
 At 0833 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
European shares was down 1 percent at 752.96 points.
                                
 Banks were among the biggest fallers. BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>,
Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, Societe Generale
<SOGN.PA> and UniCredit <CRDI.MI> fell between 3.6 and 4.4
percent.
                                
 The pan-European index is still up more than 16 percent from
the lifetime low it hit on March 9, but analysts said that the
mini-rally was likely to have run out of steam.
                                
 "It's mostly nervousness ahead of the Q1 reporting season,"
said Bernard McAlinden, strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in
Dublin. 
                                
"The earnings season won't be particularly good. I can't see
that the earnings season is going to be a catalyst for pushing
the rally further ahead."
                                
  After the closing bell in New York, aluminium group Alcoa
<AA.N> kicked off the U.S. earnings season with a second
straight quarterly loss on falling demand and sharply lower
prices, dampening hopes of positive surprises from corporates.
                                
 Its shares <ALU.F> were off 3 percent in Frankfurt.
                                
 Steelmaker ArcelorMittal <ISPA.AS> fell 5 percent, while
miners Xstrata <XTA.L>, AngloAmerican <AAL.L> and Kazakhmys
<KAZ.L> fell 3.3-4.1 percent.
                                
 Oils fell after crude prices <CLc1> dropped more than 3
percent to less than $48 a barrel, after an increase in U.S.
inventories.
                                
 Total <TOTF.PA>, ENI <ENI.MI>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>,
and Statoil <STL.OL> were between 1 and 2.1 percent lower.
  French drinks group Pernod Ricard <PERP.PA> was 4.9 percent
lower after announcing plans for a 1 billion euros ($1.35
billion) rights issue to cut debt and the sale of its Wild
Turkey bourbon brand to Italy's Campari <CPRI.MI>.
[ID:nL8443585]
                                
 
                                
 IRISH FINANCIALS SUFFER
 Irish financial stocks fell after the government said it
would create a company to take over up to 90 billion euros ($119
billion) of the sector's risky commercial property loans, and
ratings agency Moody's downgrades their ratings amid
expectations of further loan losses. [ID:nL7953480]
[ID:nL8350964]
                                
 Shares in Bank of Ireland <BKIR.I> and Allied Irish Banks
<ALBK.I> fell 13 and 11.3 percent respectively snapping a strong
run so far this month on hopes of a state solution to the
sector's bad debts.
                                
 Bancassurer Irish Life & Permanent <IPM.I> lost 10.9 percent.
                                
 German insurer Allianz <ALVG.DE> fell 4 percent after JP
Morgan cut its stance on the shares to "neutral" from
"overweight".
                                
 Other insures to fall included Generali <GASI.MI>,
 Prudential <PRU.L>, Swiss Re <RUKN.VX> and Zurich Financial
<ZURN.VX>, down between 1.1 and 4.3 percent.
                                
 Telefonica <TEF.MC> fell 1.8 percent after Deutsche Bank
downgraded the Spanish telecoms giant to "hold" from "buy".
                                
 Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE>, Germany's DAX
<.GDAXI> and France's CAC-40 <.FCHI> were between 0.5 and 1.3
percent lower.
                                
 The FTSEurofirst fell 45 percent last year, punctured by a
credit crisis that piled up losses at banks and tipped economies
into recession.
                                
 Bank stocks <.SX7P> have risen more than 50 percent since
March 9, the main driver of the bear market rally, but analysts
said there could be declines ahead.
                                
 "There's been lots of comments in the last day or so that
the markets are ahead of themselves. There may still be losses
coming from the financials," said McAlinden.
  (Editing by Mike Nesbit)