* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.2 pct
* Banks rise; UBS falls after on client withdrawals
By Dominic Lau
LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - European shares edged higher on
Tuesday, led by banks though investors remained wary of the debt
problems in Greece and other peripheral euro zone economies.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of leading European
shares closed 0.2 percent higher at 980.96 points in choppy
trade, after rising 0.7 percent on Monday to snap a three-day
losing run.
The index has fallen 6.2 percent so far this year but is
still up 52 percent from a low hit in early March 2009.
Banks <.SX7P> were the among the top gainers in Europe,
though they pared some gains towards the end of the session.
Traders said comments by Fitch Ratings that Britain was among
the most vulnerable of triple-A sovereigns took some of the wind
out of UK banks.
HSBC <HSBA.L>, Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, Deutsche Bank
<DBKGn.DE>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> and
Barclays <BARC.L> advanced 0.3 to 2.8 percent. Swiss bank UBS
<UBSN.VX> fell 5.4 percent after reporting clients withdrew far
more money than forecast.
European banks have lost 11 percent this year after being
hurt by concerns over the euro zone debt and U.S. President
Barack Obama's plans to limit banks' ability to take risk.
Earlier, European stocks rose on expectations about a rescue
for Greece after news that European Central Bank President
Jean-Claude Trichet was leaving a meeting of central bankers in
Australia early to attend a European Union leaders' summit in
Brussels this Thursday.
ECB, however, said Trichet was changing his plans and return
to Europe purely because of logistics.
Greek bank shares <.FTATBNK>, after falling for four
straight sessions, surged 8.6 percent, with Alpha Bank <ACBr.AT>
up 14.9 percent and EFG Eurobank <EFGr.AT> up 10.9 percent.
"This is a little bit overblown ... you know it's going to
be bailout eventually. Is it the EU? Is it the IMF? It doesn't
matter. They are not going to default," said Robert Quinn,
European strategist at Standard & Poor's equity research.
"What we are waiting on is a political solution, not an
economic solution ... They have a different time scale."
A senior German ruling coalition source said after the
European market close that euro zone countries have decided in
principle to help debt-stricken Greece.[]
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> put on 0.4
percent, Germany's DAX <> added 0.2 percent and France's
CAC 40 <> rose 0.2 percent.
MINERS UP, DEFENSIVES DOWN
Miners were in demand, with Anglo American <AAL.L>, Rio
Tinto <RIO.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L> and Eurasian Natural
Resources <ENRC.L> up 1.5 to 3.7 percent.
Defensive shares, such as drugmakers, utilities, tobacco
firms and telecoms, were also weaker, with investors favouring
beaten-down banks. Unilever <ULVR.L>, E.ON <EONGn.DE>, Novartis
<NOVN.VX> and Imperial Tobacco <IMT.L> eased 0.2 to 1.6 percent.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca <AZN.L>, however, was up 1.3 percent
after U.S. approval for expanded use of Crestor strengthened its
position in the highly competitive cholesterol drug market.
Among other individual movers, Swatch Group <UHR.VX> soared
4.8 percent after it posting forecast-beating full-year profit
and maintained a positive outlook for 2010, easing worries a
flagging economic recovery may hit demand.
Wind turbine maker Vestas <VWS.CO> surged 7.8 percent on
news of a planned roadshow for bond investors and a Canadian
order, traders said.
On the downside, Unibal-Rodamco <UNBP.PA> shed 6 percent
after the Franco-Dutch property group issued disappointing 2010
guidance with its annual profits.
(Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
