* FTSEurofirst 300 ends 0.3 pct lower
* Oils fall as crude inventories rise
* Greece fears linger, euro pressured
* Retailers up on positive broker comment
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) - European shares fell on
Wednesday, following a recent strong run, as worries over
Greece's fiscal problems resurfaced, and a downward revision to
euro zone growth highlighted the fragility of the recovery.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares fell 0.3 percent to close at 1,098.16 points, after
hitting an 18-month closing high for the second straight session
on Tuesday.
The European benchmark is up more than 70 percent from its
lifetime low of March 9, 2009.
"This looks like a bit of profit-taking after a massive run
on the upside," said Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP
Paribas Fortis Global Markets, in Brussels.
"It could be the Greek situation, with the spreads widening.
But they've been widening for a while, and that hasn't held the
market back. The market just needed an excuse to pause a bit."
Banking shares were among the biggest drags on the index.
BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX>, Deutsche
Bank <DBKGn.DE>, Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> and UBS <UBSN.VX>
fell between 1.3 and 2.8 percent.
Greek banks <.FTATBNK> lost 4.2 percent. The country's
finance minister said its banks have asked for permission to
access the remaining funds from a state support package first
agreed in 2008. []
Energy companies suffered after crude futures <CLc1> fell,
following data showing that U.S. inventories rose more than
forecast.
Total <TOTF.PA>, BP <BP.L>, BG <BG.L> and StatoilHydro
<STL.OL> fell between 0.6 and 1.9 percent.
Miners were weaker. Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L> and Rio Tinto <RIO.L> fell
between 1.2 and 2.6 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> ended the day 0.3
percent lower; Germany's DAX <> and France's CAC 40
<> fell 0.5 and 0.7 percent respectively.
Wall Street was lower around the time European bourses were
closing. The Dow Jones <> and S&P 500 <.SPX> were down 0.4
and 0.3 percent respectively. The Nasdaq Composite <> was
flat.
RETAILERS RISE
The index's losses were limited by retailers, boosted by
positive broker comment, and pharmaceuticals.
Next <NXT.L> rose 2 percent after Citigroup upgraded the
fashion retailer to "buy" from "hold" in the wake of its recent
robust full-year results.
Metro <MEOG.DE> rose 1.3 percent after WestLB upped its
rating to "add".
Carrefour <CARR.PA>, Tesco <TSCO.L>, Sainsbury <SBRY.L> and
Kingfisher <KGF.L> rose between 0.9 and 2.8 percent.
Drugmakers GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>, AstraZeneca <AZN.L> and
Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> rose between 1.1 and 1.2 percent.
Among individual stocks, hedge fund firm Man Group <EMG.L>
rose 6.1 percent, after its main fund AHL posted a 3.8 percent
rise in net asset value last week.
Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas <VWS.CO> added 7.4
percent after the firm said it won an order for turbines with a
total capacity of 93 megawatts from Turkey's Agaoglu Group.
[]
On the economic front, macroeconomic data pointed to a
mixed picture on the outlook for economic recovery in Europe.
Euro zone growth stalled in the last quarter of 2009,
revised data showed against the previously reported 0.1 percent
expansion. []
However, the euro zone's dominant service sector grew at its
fastest pace in over two years in March with all four big
economies expanding as firms became more optimistic about the
year ahead, the Markit Eurozone Services Purchasing Managers'
Index of around 2,000 companies showed. []
(Editing by Mike Nesbit)
