* FTSEurofirst 300 closes 0.8 percent lower
* Banks heaviest fallers; Bank of Ireland down 19 pct
* Autos accelerate, boosted by broker note
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Monday,
led by banks, on worries that other euro zone peripheral
countries will need financial assistance packages similar to
that of Ireland.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
fell 0.8 percent to close at 1,093.45 points.
It had risen earlier in the session in reaction to the
proposed deal between Ireland, the European Union and the
International Monetary Fund to rescue Ireland's shattered banks.
"There's nervousness over whether other countries will be
embroiled in this," said Bill Dinning, head of strategy at Aegon
Asset Management, in Edinburgh.
He remained optimistic on the outlook for equities.
"We think the stock market will head up. Valuations are not
too demanding. What we need is some confirmation of exactly what
assistance will be given to Ireland, and then we can focus again
on the cyclical side, and earnings, which have been supportive."
Banks were among the biggest losers, with Bank of Ireland
<BKIR.I> down 19.1 percent. Spanish heavyweights Banco Santander
<SAN.MC> and BBVA <BBVA.MC> fell 4 and 3.9 percent respectively.
Matthew Elderfield, Ireland's financial regulator, said on
Monday capital could be immediately injected into the banks and
a "standby contingent capital facility" added as a backstop to
restore confidence. []
Adding to Ireland's woes, its Green Party, the junior
government coalition partner, called on Monday for an election
to be held in January and said it would pull out of government
once a series of fiscal packages and budgets were in place.
Investors continue to worry the euro zone's sovereign debt
crisis could derail the region's fragile economic recovery and
force countries to restructure their debt.
Other banks to fall included BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Societe
Generale <SOGN.PA> and UBS <UBSN.VX>, down between 2.1 and 2.8
percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> and France's CAC40
<> ended the day 0.9 and 1.1 percent lower respectively.
Germany's DAX <> fell 0.3 percent.
Ireland's ISEQ <.ISEQ> was down 1.5 percent, Spain's IBEX
<> fell 2.7 percent and Italy's FTSE MIB index <.FTMIB>
slipped 1.9 percent. The Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone
Countries Index <.TRXFLDPIPU> fell 2.5 percent.
Spain will aim to raise 3 billion to 4 billion euros at a
treasury bill auction on Tuesday, with yields expected to rise
from previous sales on the back of a steady growth in risk
premiums spurred by Ireland's debt crisis. []
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Europe struggles with debt graphic
http://r.reuters.com/hyb65p
Ireland's corporate tax rate vs. a selection of countries
http://r.reuters.com/fuh85q
EDREF - New interactive timeline on the eurozone crisis
http://link.reuters.com/nyx95q
Asset returns since QE2 hints and announcement
http://r.reuters.com/kyw48p
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AUTOS ON MOVE
On the brighter side, the STOXX Europe 600 Automobiles &
Parts <.SXAP> index rose 0.9 percent on a positive BofA Merrill
Lynch note. BMW <BMWG.DE>, Volkswagen <VOWG_p.DE> and Porsche
<PSHG_p.DE> gained between 1.8 and 4.9 percent.
Miners suffered as metals prices weakened, with the dollar
gaining against the euro. Anglo American <AAL.L> and Lonmin
<LMI.L> fell 1.7 and 2.5 percent respectively.
Wall Street was lower around the time European bourses were
closing. The Dow Jones <> and S&P 500 <.SPX> were down 0.7
and 0.6 percent respectively. The Nasdaq Composite <> was
flat.
(Graphics by Scott Barber; Editing by David Hulmes)
