* FTSEurofirst 300 index closes 0.1 pct lower
* Miners fall as metals prices drop on stronger dollar
* Man Group sinks on GLG deal worries
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - European shares ended lower on
Monday, with miners weak as metals prices fell on a
strengthening dollar, while gains in defensive food producers
and drugmakers limited wider losses.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares closed 0.1 percent lower at 1,013.06 points, after
climbing to a high of 1,025.78 earlier in the session.
The index, which rose nearly 26 percent in 2009, has
struggled to gain ground this year and is down more than 3
percent since the start of 2010 on sovereign debt worries in the
euro zone peripheral economies.
Anglo American <AAL.L>, Eurasian Natural Resources <ENRC.L>,
Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and Rio
Tinto <RIO.L> shed 0.4 to 3 percent as copper fell more than 5
percent and other industrial metals tumbled.
On the upside, drugmakers and food producers were higher,
boosted by their safe-bet qualities and as analysts said
European exporters could benefit from a weak outlook for the
euro.
"There is no doubt that there are parts of the European
economy which are going to benefit from the euro's weakness as
it increases the competitiveness of their goods and services on
a global scale," said Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland
Research.
Associated British Foods <ABF.L>, Unilever <ULVR.L>, Bayer
<BAYGn.DE> and Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> rose 0.1 to 0.9 percent.
The euro fell to a four-year low against the dollar,
pressured by worries that fiscal tightening by highly indebted
euro zone economies could hamper growth in the region.
Highlighting the uncertainty, Greek Prime Minister George
Papandreou told a newspaper his country's austerity measures
were sustainable only if investment and economic growth in the
country could be stimulated. []
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday the $1
trillion European Union (EU) rescue plan had only bought time to
sort out the yawning gap between the euro zone's strongest and
weakest economies. [].
Adding to pressure on equities, U.S. manufacturing data and
retailers' results signalled that the U.S. economic rebound may
be slowing. []
MAN GROUP FALLS
Shares in hedge fund firm Man Group <EMG.L> fell 9 percent
and hit their lowest level in more than a year as investors
fretted about the $1.6 billion it is paying for rival GLG
Partners <GLG.N>. []
Among other movers, Britain's Prudential <PRU.L> fell 1.5
percent after it finally launched a $21 billion rights issue to
help finance its acquisition of AIG's <AIG.N> Asian insurance
business.
On the upside, German chipmaker Infineon <IFXGn.DE> gained
0.9 percent, buoyed by a report in the Financial Times
Deutschland that the company is in talks with U.S. peer Intel
<INTC.O> to sell its wireless chip unit.
Galp Energia <GALP.LS> added 3.1 percent. Workers at the
Portuguese oil company decided to suspend a planned a strike
over a wage dispute, which would have halted the country's two
refineries for four days starting on Tuesday. []
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index closed flat while
France's CAC 40 <> slipped 0.5 percent. Germany's DAX
<> gained 0.2 percent.
(Editing by David Cowell)
