* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 1 pct
* Banks under pressure, but SocGen gains
* Energy shares slip, miners under pressure
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - European shares fell on
Wednesday, led lower by Renewable Energy <REC.OL> which slumped
after it said first-quarter results would be weaker, while banks
slid on persistent concerns about the health of their balance
sheets.
Energy shares took the most points off the FTSEurofirst 300
<> index of top European shares, with the benchmark down 1
percent to 758.05 points at 1254 GMT, after hitting its lowest
level in nearly four weeks. It is down 8.5 percent this year
after falling 45 percent in 2008.
Renewable Energy Corporation slumped more than 13 percent
after the Norwegian solar industry group posted a 10 percent
increase in core earnings for the fourth quarter, but warned
first-quarter results would be weaker than a year ago.
Other energy shares also slipped, with BG Group <BG.L>,
Tullow Oil <TLW.L>, Repsol <REP.MC> and StatoilHydro <STL.OL>
shedding between 1 percent and 3.5 percent.
Banks also came under pressure. Standard Chartered <STAN.L>
was down 7.7 percent, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> fell 1.3 percent,
Dexia <DEXI.BR> slipped 5.9 percent and Unicredit <CRDI.MI> lost
1.7 percent.
Investors awaited a move by U.S. President Barack Obama,
who, after signing into law a sweeping $787 billion fiscal
stimulus package, was set to unveil a plan to stabilise the
housing market, a main cause of the economy's deepening slump.
Governments around the world have pledged hundreds of
billions of dollars to shore up bank capital, cut taxes and fund
projects that will create jobs, while central banks have pumped
funds into the money markets and slashed interest rates.
"These measures are probably necessary conditions for a
recovery, but we are not there yet," said Peter Dixon, an
economist at Commerzbank.
"And because the economy is so weak, this is going to be a
continuing pattern for some considerable time to come. For the
next few months, the market is going to remain under pressure."
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> were down 0.4-0.9 percent.
SOCIETE GENERALE, COMMERZBANK UP
Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> was, however, up 3.5 percent
after an early 7 percent jump on quarterly profit and higher
dividend, and Commerzbank <CBKG.DE> was up nearly 4 percent
after a 10 percent gain earlier in the session.
"There seemed to be a sigh of relief early on that bank
results were not as bad as the whisper numbers. But now
realisation has set in on the possible exposure to eastern
Europe," a trader said.
"A year ago, CEOs were confessing to skeletons in the
cupboard in theshape of CDOs in the United States. Now the
focus is turning to the east, and this could be the next leg of
the downturn. These results are from the fourth quarter, and the
eastern Europe situation could further erode earnings and
margins," he said.
Miners were also under pressure as metals prices fell. BHP
Billiton <BLT.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>
and Eurasian Natural Resources <ENRC.L> fell between 2.1 percent
and 2.5 percent.
Miner Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and oil group BP <BP.L> lost 2.3
percent and 3.4 percent respectively as they traded ex-dividend.
(Additional reporting by Sitaraman Shankar; Editing by Rupert
Winchester)
