* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 0.3 percent; down for second day
* Banks top losers on concerns about sector's health
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - European shares slipped on
Wednesday, pressured by weaker financials, as renewed concerns
about the health of the European banking system prompted
investors to shun riskier assets.
At 0817 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 0.3 percent at 1,059.12 points after
falling 0.4 percent on Tuesday.
Financials were the top losers, with the STOXX Europe 600
banking index <.SX7P> down 1 percent. National Bank of Greece
<NBGr.AT> slipped 9.4 percent, Allied Irish Banks <ALBK.I> was
down 1.5 percent and Barclays <BARC.l> fell 3 percent.
NBG unveiled a plan on Tuesday to raise 2.8 billion euros
($3.6 billion) via a rights issue, a convertible bond, and the
sale of a stake in its profitable Turkish unit. []
British business minister Vince Cable said Bob Diamond's
rise to the top post at Barclays <BARC.L> highlighted the task
the government faced trying to make the banking sector safer.
[]
"Due to the financial crisis, the capital base of the
banking system in Europe is still rather narrow. This banking
scare probably will go away again, but in the meantime it could
still create some damage for a couple of days," said Luc Van
Hecka, chief economist at KBC Securities.
"The underlying fabric of the economy seems to be a bit
better now. The idea that we would inevitably slide into a
double-dip kind of scenario has weakened somewhat."
Worries about Europe's banks resurfaced on Tuesday, when the
Wall Street Journal reported some major lenders had understated
holdings in potentially risky government debt during "stress
tests" designed to test their ability to weather crises.
Sentiment worsened further after Ireland extended its
guarantees for short-term bank liabilities amid fears over the
escalating cost of bailing out nationalised lender Anglo Irish
Bank []. []
"The European sovereign debt crisis has not yet been
resolved as austerity programs remain insufficient to restore
fiscal stability, interest rate gaps to German Bunds are back to
May levels and the differences in growth rate and indebtedness
are deepening," Bernstein said in a research note.
Economic numbers also did not help, as figures showed German
exports fell on the month in July after two months of strong
gains.
OILS UNDER PRESSURE
Energy stocks lost ground as crude oil prices <CLc1> fell
for a third straight session on strong petroleum stockpiles.
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, Tullow Oil <TLW.L> and StatoilHydro
<STL.OL> shed 0.4-0.7 percent.
Dana Petroleum <DNX.L> rejected a weeks-old hostile 1.67
billion pound ($2.6 billion) bid from Korea National Oil Corp
[], citing an independent valuation that the British
explorer was worth considerably more. Its shares were little
changed. []
Miners remained under pressure after Australian Prime
Minister Julia Gillard won backing from two independent MPs on
Tuesday to clinch a parliamentary majority and form the
country's first minority government since World War Two.
The fragile Labor government said on Wednesday it could
adjust a planned profits-based tax on mining companies to bend
to the demands of the independent MPs giving it a slender grip
on power, but mining stocks tracked wider market weakness.
BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L>, and ENRC <ENRC.L> fell 0.7-2.2
percent.
Rio Tinto <RIO.L> was down 1.8 percent. Its representatives
are in Russia to visit potash producer Uralkali <URKA.MM> which
is seen as a potential acquisition target for the mining giant,
Vedomosti reported on Wednesday. []
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX <>
and France's CAC 40 <> fell 0.6-0.8 percent. The Thomson
Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Countries Index <.TRXFLDPIPU> was
down 0.9 percent.
(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Dan Lalor)
