* FTSEurofirst 300 closes 0.6 pct lower
* Energy shares track weaker crude; miners also slip
* Financial stocks jump, Lloyds jumps 10.6 percent
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - European shares ended lower on Wednesday after staying in
positive territory during most of the day, with investors selling stocks, following data
showing the U.S. services sector contracted more than expected in July.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares closed 0.6 percent lower at
934.47 points, hovering in a wide range of 931.11 to 946.70 points, after hitting a nine-month
high on Monday.
Stronger-than-feared corporate earnings have helped the FTSEurofirst 300 to climb about 15
percent since July 10. The index is now up 45 percent since its lifetime low in March, but is
still down 43 percent from its multi-year peak in mid-2007.
Energy stocks were among top decliners, also under pressure because of weaker crude prices
<CLc1>. BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, BG Group <BG.L>, Tullow Oil <TLW.L>, Repsol
<REP.MC>, Total <TOTF.PA> and StatoilHydro <STL.OL> shed between 0.8 percent and 3.9 percent.
"Whether you're cautious or cautiously optimistic of a sustained recovery ... there is a
sense that after the recent strong climb to the current plateau, now is the time to take a
completely justified breather at this check-point before ideally pressing on to new heights,"
said Anthony Grech, strategist at IG Index.
Miners also lost ground. BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>,
Xstrata <XTA.L> and Eurasian Natural Resources <ENRC.L> fell 0.7-1.9 percent.
The stock market slipped after data showed the Institute for Supply Management's services
index fell to 46.4 last month from 47.0 in June, below economists' forecast for a rise to
48.0. The dividing line between growth and contraction is 50. []
News that U.S. private employers axed more jobs in July also dampened sentiment and
overshadowed figures showing that new orders received by U.S. factories unexpectedly rose in
June. [] []
"In the very short term, it would be understandable if we went through a period of calm
after a tremendous rally," said Henk Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Stockbrokers.
"But in the longer term, I see equity markets rising further from the current levels. The
second-quarter reporting season has gone very well and analysts have been increasing their
forecasts," he added.
According to Thomson Reuters data, so far 146 companies in the DJ STOXX 600 <> have
reported their quarterly results in the current earnings season, of which 75 beat estimates, 2
matched and 69 missed the estimates.
FINANCIALS ADVANCE
On the positive side, shares in Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> jumped 6 percent after it
posted a smaller-than-expected drop in second-quarter profits, helped by a surprisingly small
bad debt provisions and an investment banking recovery. []
AXA <AXAF.PA> gained 1.7 percent after Europe's second largest insurer by market value
posted a smaller-than-expected drop in half-year earnings. [] []
Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> jumped 10.6 percent after it fanned hopes for an imminent
end to Britain's UK real estate debt drought. It said that impairments in its multi-billion
pound commercial mortgage book had peaked.
Other banks also advanced, with Standard Chartered <STAN.L>, Barclays <BARC.L>, Royal
Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, UBS <UBSN.VX> and Commerzbank <CBKG.DE> gaining 1.1-4.4 percent.
Shares in German stock and derivatives market operator Deutsche Boerse <DB1Gn.DE> fell
more than 6 percent after the exchange published disappointing second-quarter figures late on
Tuesday night. []
Across Europe, the UK's FTSE 100 index <>, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 <>
were down 0.5-1.2 percent.
(Edited by Rupert Winchester)
