* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 0.4 pct
* Energy companies with operations in Libya fall
* Natixis up on return to profit, dividend plan
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - European shares added to this
week's losses in early trade on Wednesday, pressured again by
the unrest in oil-rich Libya, which helped drive down shares in
oil companies with Middle East operations.
At 0947 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 0.4 percent at 1,160.54 points, after
falling 1.9 percent in the previous two sessions.
U.S. crude oil futures climbed to a 2-1/2-year peak on
Wednesday on concern that unrest in Libya could spread to other
top oil producers in the region and cut more output.
Oil companies with operations in the Middle East fell,
including ENI <ENI.MI>, Repsol <REP.MC>, BP <BP.L> and Royal
Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, down between 0.8 and 1.4 percent.
OMV <OMVV.VI> fell 6.4 percent after the Austrian oil and
gas group warned it expected a temporary fall in Libyan
production and could not exclude a complete shutdown due to
unrest there, and it reported lower fourth-quarter net profit.
[]
"There is very little reason for people to be adding to risk
at the moment. The Middle East is going to cast a pall over the
markets until they can see any proper direction," said Justin
Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management.
He added: "There is increasing concern about what this will
do to inflation."
Miners fell as the price of copper and other metals slipped
further from recent highs.
Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, Lonmin <LMI.L> and
Rio Tinto <RIO.L> fell between 1.2 and 1.7 percent.
NATIXIS RISES
French bank Natixis <CNAT.PA> rose 5.6 percent after a
return to net profit for 2010 and its plans to resume paying a
dividend, marking another step in the bank's recovery since its
near-collapse during the financial crisis. []
Cable & Wireless Communications <CWC.L> surged 9.8 percent
after saying it would sell its operating business in Bermuda to
Canada's Bragg Group for $70 million, and announced a share
buyback. []
The VDAX-NEW volatility index <.V1XI>, one of Europe's main
barometers of investor anxiety, rose 2.2 percent, having surged
16 percent in two days, signalling a strong rise in investor
risk aversion.
The European benchmark <> is still up more than 79
percent from its lifetime low of March, 2009, helped by monetary
stimulus, but has barely recovered half the ground lost in its
fall from a peak in 2007 to the 2009 low.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC40 <> fell between 0.2 and 0.7
percent.
The FTSE's fall on Tuesday through its medium-term uptrend
was a cause for concern. "It suggests that the bears will have
been emboldened and will almost certainly have another go at
taking the FTSE back through 5900," said Bill McNamara,
technical analyst at Charles Stanley.
Bank of England chief economist Spencer Dale joined Andrew
Sentance and Martin Weale in voting for higher rates in
February, minutes to the Bank of England's Feb. 9-10 meeting
showed on Wednesday.
The minutes also suggested that some of those opposed a rate
hike this month would consider if it if the economy shows signs
of picking up after an unexpected fall in output at the end of
2010. []
Later, investors' attention will turn to U.S. economic data,
such as home sales, for indications of the strength of the
recovery in the world's biggest economy.
