* FTSEurofirst drops 1 pct
* Investors lament lack of detail in U.S. bailout plan
* Banks lead decliners
By Rebekah Curtis
LONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - European shares opened 1 percent
lower early on Wednesday, joining a global sell-off as investors
feared a $2 trillion U.S. bank rescue plan would not be enough
to prop up the troubled financial system.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> was down 1 percent at 797.8
points by 0919 GMT. The index of top European shares lost 2.9
percent on Tuesday.
Banks led the decliners in Europe. Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX>
dropped 1.8 percent after Switzerland's second-largest bank
posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $5.2 billion, its biggest
annual loss ever, due to poor trading performance and
restructuring charges. [].
U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly higher start after
falling sharply the day before. Asian stocks fell too, with
sentiment hurt further after Chinese exports and imports fell
more than expected in January.
Investors worldwide were sharply disappointed by the lack of
detail on how the U.S. government will cleanse toxic assets
burdening the financial system.
"They've given it a fancy name (but) there's a huge amount
of uncertainty," Peter Dixon, an economist at Commerzbank in
London, said of the U.S. plan.
However, he added that markets had over-reacted on the
downside.
"This plan is not (a) short term panacea for the ills of the
U.S. economy, it's a long term one," he said. "This is a market
that's trading on sentiment not on facts."
David Buik, of Cantor Index in London, said: "(Investors)
want significantly more meat on the bone, they want to know how
it's going to work. It just needs to be explained properly."
Among banks, Barclays <BARC.L> shed 3 percent and Banco
Santander <SAN.MC> lost more than 1 percent.
Meanwhile, shareholders of Fortis <FOR.BR> will give their
verdict on Wednesday on the state-led deals that carved up their
stricken financial group and left them with huge losses and a
share of toxic assets.
SWEDISH MOVE
Sweden's central bank slashed its key interest rate by a
full point to a record low 1.0 percent on Wednesday as it sought
to bolster a rapidly deteriorating economy.
European Central Bank Executive Board Member Jose Manuel
Gonzalez-Paramo said, meanwhile, that 2 percent is not the
lowest level for European Central Bank interest rates.
The ECB held rates at 2.0 percent at its February meeting
but policymakers have signalled a cut is likely in March.
PSA Peugeot Citroen <PEUP.PA> dropped 3.3 percent after
saying it does not expect to return to profit until 2010 after
it made an unexpected loss for 2008 following hefty writedowns,
as the global economic crisis puts the brakes on car sales.
Renault <RENA.PA> shed 4.4 percent.
Leading the gainers, Vestas <VWS.CO> added 5.8 percent after
the world's biggest wind turbines maker posted a
better-than-expected 51 percent rise in 2008 operating profit
and repeated its 2009 sales and profit forecasts.
British household cleaning products group Reckitt Benckiser
<RB.L> added 4.6 percent after it topped forecasts with a 26
percent rise in 2008 net profits on Wednesday and set itself
market-beating 2009 targets, even as the slowdown starts to
bite.
Shares in Rio Tinto <RIO.L> gained 3 percent on hopes the
global miner would announce a deal with top shareholder Chinalco
to help slash its $39 billion debt burden when it announces
results on Thursday.
(Editing by Simon Jessop)
