* FTSEurofirst 300 index down 0.9 pct
* Banks weigh; RBS results disappoint
* Allianz falls after results
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - European shares were lower in
early trade on Friday as investors awaited key U.S. monthly jobs
data, with banking shares the biggest losers after Royal Bank of
Scotland <RBS.L> posted a first-half loss.
By 0846 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <>
index of top shares was down 0.9 percent at 929.79 points.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
had surged 15 percent since July 10, propelled by
better-than-feared company results.
The index, which has gained 43 percent since reaching a
floor in early March, is up around 11.6 percent so far in 2009.
Investors will closely study the U.S. July employment report
at 1230 GMT. In a Reuters survey, economists forecast that
320,000 U.S. jobs were lost in July compared with a loss of
467,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate is seen at 9.6
percent, which would be the highest since June 1983. []
"I think today the worry is bad news, recently the market
has ignored bad news and risen anyway ... now more sensible
heads will prevail," said Mic Mills, senior trader at spread
betters, ETX Capital.
Banking shares took the most points off the index.
State-owned Royal Bank of Scotland slumped 15.8 percent after it
posted a 1 billion pound ($1.7 billion) loss in the first-half
of the year, hit by 7.5 billion pounds of bad debts, and named a
new finance director to boost turnaround efforts. []
HSBC <HSBA.L>, Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L>, Barclays
<BARC.L> and UniCredit <CRDI.MI> were down 3 to 7.2 percent.
ALLIANZ FALLS
Insurers were also on the downside. Allianz <ALVG.DE> shed
2.8 percent as it beat expectations with a 21 percent rise in
second-quarter net profit, but forecast that business would
remain challenging with lower expected returns. []
"Generally, most companies tend to beat estimates, but
expectations have been lowered so much it is not so difficult to
beat these levels. Earnings are still down 30 something percent
in the U.S. and Europe, so it is not good," said Philippe
Gijsels, senior equity strategist at Fortis Bank.
"If you look at where the profits have come most of this has
been through cost cutting. Revenues are still down year on year
... the market has been hoping final demand will pick up ... I
do not think final demand will be there and eventually I think
earnings will disappoint," he said.
Miners were in the doldrums as copper <MCU3=LX> slipped 2
percent. Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, BHP
Billiton <BLT.L>, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation
<ENRC.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L> were down 2.5 to
7.2 percent.
Looking at individual stocks, PSA Peugeot Citroen <PEUP.PA>
fell 4.7 percent after Standard & Poor's on Thursday cut its
ratings into junk territory, citing an expectation that low
demand will hurt the French automaker's already weak
profitability. []
Shares in Belgium's Umicore <UMI.BR> slumped 10.1 percent
after the metals group reported a sharp drop in first-half
profit and said it sees second-half recurring operating profit
roughly the same as in the first half. []
Turning to the upside, defensive stocks were in favour.
Telecom groups Vodafone <VOD.L>, Telefonica <TEF.MC>, France
Telecom <FTE.PA> and Deutsche Telekom <DTEGn.DE> were up 0.6 to
1.4 percent.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was down 1.2
percent, Germany's DAX <> was 0.8 percent lower and
France's CAC 40 <> was down 1.1 percent.
(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Hans Peters)
