* FTSEurofirst 300 index closes 0.7 percent lower
* Miners down on China tightening worries
* Banks fall on regulation concern
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - European shares closed lower on
Monday, with miners falling on concern over a potential
tightening of China's monetary policy, and with data suggesting
fragility in economic recovery.
Banks suffered on worries about U.S. regulation.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares fell 0.7 percent to 1,051.12 points after hitting a
seven-week high on Friday. The European benchmark is up more
than 62 percent from its lifetime low on March 9, 2009.
"People have just lost a bit of confidence in the strength
of the markets," said Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland
Research, in Frankfurt. "It's been lacklustre trading, in low
volumes." Trading volume was 72 percent of the 90-day average,
with a lack of major corporate news.
"Tomorrow, we will have more news that might impact the
markets, such as U.S. housing starts, and the Fed rate
decision," Ruland said.
Miners fell as the price of copper <MCU3=LX> and other
metals dropped on investor concern China may continue to tighten
liquidity to fight inflation. A stronger dollar also hurt metal
prices.
Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, BHP Billiton
<BLT.L>, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. <ENRC.L>, Fresnillo
<FRES.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, Lonmin <LMI.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>,
Vedanta <VED.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L> fell 1.4-3.4 percent.
Energy companies suffered as crude futures <CLc1> slipped
below $80 a barrel. Total <TOTF.PA>, BG <BG.L> Repsol <REP.MC>
and StatoilHydro <STL.OL> fell 0.8-2.3 percent.
U.S. industrial production braked sharply in February, held
back by severe winter storms, while manufacturing activity in
New York state stalled this month. []
The euro zone lost 347,000 jobs in the last quarter of 2009,
as the 16-country area's economic recovery remained beset by
fragility. []
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> ended the day 0.6
percent lower; France's CAC40 <> and Germany's DAX <>
fell 0.9 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.
Wall Street, open since 1330 GMT after U.S. clocks were put
forward, was lower around the time European bourses were
closing. The Dow Jones <>, S&P 500 <.SPX> and Nasdaq
Composite <> were down 0.3-0.9 percent.
BANKS FALL
The heavyweight banking sector took the most points off the
European index on concerns a bipartisan financial regulation
reform bill could still be worked out in the U.S. Senate,
despite a breakdown in negotiations. []
Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>, Credit
Agricole <CAGR.PA>, Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> and BNP
Paribas <BNPP.PA> fell 1.5-2.5 percent.
Pharmaceuticals were among the gainers, as investors turned
to defensive sectors. GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>, Shire <SHP.L>,
Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> and Roche <ROG.VX> rose 0.4-1.2
percent.
Greece's deficit continues to worry investors.
The European Union's executive said on Monday it was ready
to propose a framework that could be used to aid Greece, despite
signs of continuing reluctance from France and Germany to make
concrete commitments. []
Meantime, the debt levels of some of Europe's bigger
economies were also giving cause for concern.
The credit ratings of the world's four largest triple-A
sovereign debt issuers as well as Spain are safe but risks to
their blue-chip status have grown, a report from Moody's
Investors Service said on Monday. []
(Editing by Dan Lalor)
