* FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.1 pct; gains for 4th quarter
* Banks among top losers, but Bank of Ireland jumps 24 pct
* Miners gain on stronger gold, base metals prices
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - European shares edged lower on
Wednesday as disappointing U.S. economic data ahead of Friday's
crucial jobs numbers prompted investors to trade cautiously, but
the market still posted its fourth consecutive quarter of gains.
Financials were among the top losers on Wednesday, with the
STOXX Europe 600 banking index <.SX7P> falling 0.5 percent after
climbing in the previous session to its highest in more than two
months.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
closed 0.1 percent lower at 1,078.58 points after rising as high
as 1,083.66. It hit an 18-month high on Tuesday.
The index, which is up around 67 percent from its record low
in March 2009, gained 3.1 percent during the Jan-March period
after rising in the previous three quarters.
"The next quarter should, on balance, be positive again
because over the course of the quarter we will see a further
reduction in sovereign credit risk," said Klaus Wiener, head of
research at Generali Investments.
"Despite today's numbers, we will see a positive employment
report on Friday," he said. "Valuations are fair. They are not
stretched, especially now since earnings are rising."
Stocks in the FTSEurofirst 300 trade at an average of 14.6
times earnings, according to Thomson Reuters data. The average
price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio has been drifting lower since
peaking at 15.9 in mid-January, following relatively strong
corporate results.
This compares with a current P/E ratio of 17.5 percent for
Wall Street's S&P 500 index <.SPX>.
Bank of Ireland <BKIR.I> spiked 24 percent after it said it
will raise from private sources much of the 2.7 billion euros
($3.6 billion) it needs, potentially becoming the only member of
Ireland's "bad bank" scheme to escape a fresh bailout.
But banks generally fell, with HSBC <HSBA.L>, BNP Paribas
<BNPP.PA>, Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>, Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX>,
National Bank of Greece <NBGr.AT>, EFG Eurobank Ergasias
<EFGr.AT> and Piraeus Bank <BOPr.AT> down 0.3 to 2.9 percent.
Moody's Investors Service downgraded its rating on five
Greek banks, citing their weakened financial strength and
pressures from the country's fiscal challenges. []
A Reuters poll of 47 leading investment houses across the
world showed investors cut back on equities and lifted exposure
to bonds in March. []
ECONOMIC DATA WEIGHS
The equity market came under pressure after data showed U.S.
private employers unexpectedly shed more jobs in March. Business
conditions in New York City slipped, while business activity in
the U.S. Midwest expanded less than expected in March.
"Markets were rocky at the peak of the Greek crisis, but now
volumes have fallen again," said Jacques Henry, analyst at Louis
Capital Markets, in Paris.
"Unless we get some sort of surprise on the macro data
front, like with the payrolls this week, the market might move
sideways for a bit."
Closely watched U.S. March non-farm payrolls numbers are due
on Friday when many equity markets around the world are closed
for the Easter holiday.
Volumes on the FTSEurofirst 300 were 95 percent of its
90-day daily average.
Miners were in demand as gold <XAU=> hit its highest in more
than a week on a weaker dollar and nickel <MNI3> climbed to its
highest in more than 21 months on supply shortages and robust
demand from stainless steelmakers.
Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto
<RIO.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and ENRC <ENRC.L> rose 0.2-1.5 percent.
Among individual shares, Ericsson <ERICb.ST> rose 2.7
percent. The company said it had won a $1.3 billion network
expansion contract from top Indian operator Bharti Airtel
<BRTI.BO>, its third major order in three days, and its largest
deal in eight months. []
For factboxes on the performance of European shares in Q1,
click on: [] []
(Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson in Paris; Editing
by Erica Billingham)
