* FTSEurofirst 300 index up in choppy session
* Banks biggest fallers
* Automobiles rise
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - European shares ticked up in early
trade on Tuesday in a choppy session, with the automobile sector
leading the gainers, while banks were the biggest losers.
By 0949 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <>
index was up 0.2 percent at 850.03 points, having earlier been
down as much as 835.69 points. It rose 6.9 percent on Monday.
"The market moved up quite sharply on Monday and now we have
been seeing profit taking today following the strong gains. The
last two sessions were too strong to be maintained," said Heino
Ruland, strategist at FrankfurtFinanza
Banks took the most points off the index. HSBC <HSBA.L>,
Santander <SAN.MC>, HBOS <HBOS.L> and Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>
fell 0.8-3 percent, while Anglo Irish Bank <ANGL.I> slumped
nearly 25 percent.
The world's largest maker of solar cells, Q-Cells <QCEG.DE>
slumped 20.5 percent after the group said it was reducing its
forecast for the 2008 financial year. []
"Q-Cells has surprised the market with its profit warning,
and shows what extent the slowdown in the economy is being hurt
by the financial crisis is having. It is now biting into
renewable energy," said Ruland.
"Large solar projects have been financed by loans and banks
are no longer keen to finance projects even if the group can
calculate a return on it. This is an alarming signal in my
view," he said.
Other solar stocks also fell, with Solarworld <SWVG.DE>
losing 7.4 percent.
Adding to investor woes was news that the British industrial
output fell at its sharpest pace in nearly six years in October
and revisions to previous months' data could mean the economy
shrank even faster in the third quarter than initially thought.
Later in the session all eyes will be on U.S. pending home
sales for October are due at 1500 GMT. Economists in a Reuters
survey expect a 3.2 percent fall, compared with a 4.6 percent
decline in the previous month.
"U.S. pending home sales (data) is crucial ... for any signs
of an easing of the slowdown. This would be greeted with
enthusiasm. But for now, it is still likely to be negative,"
said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment
Management.
Investors may also turn to the German ZEW economic sentiment
index, which is forecast to fall to -55.0 in December from -53.5
in November. The current conditions index is seen dropping to
-60.0 from -50.4.
Urquhart Stewartsaid: "German investor sentiment is likely
to remain incredibly weak for the time being as they see a fall
in demand for capital and retail goods."
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was up 0.7
percent, the German DAX <> index was down 0.2 percent and
France's CAC <> index was 0.6 percent higher.
AUTOMOBILES GAIN
Looking at the upside, the automobile sector was the biggest
index gainer. BMW <BMWG.DE>, Daimler <DAIGn.DE>, Fiat <FIA.MI>
and Volkswagen <VOWG.DE> were up 1.4-2.6 percent.
Congressional Democrats and the White House have been in
talks for several days to finalise an emergency loan package,
estimated to be worth up to $15 billion, to prevent the collapse
of General Motors Corp <G.N> and Chrysler LLC. []
EDF <EDF.PA> was up 1.6 percent after Constellation Energy
Group Inc <CEG.N> said on Monday it would begin bid discussions
with the group. []
Chipmaker Infineon <IFXGn.DE> shed 6 percent following big
job cuts at Sony <6758.T> and bearish updates from chipmakers
Texas Instruments <TXN.N> and National Semiconductor <NSM.N>.
Ericsson <ERICb.ST> slipped 1.3 percent.
(Editing by Simon Jessop)
