* FTSEurofirst 300 little changed after two days of losses
* Miners advance on metals prices, China import-export data
* Drugmakers among top decliners
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - European shares were little
changed on Wednesday after dipping in the past two days, with
firmer miners following a rise in metal prices on strong imports
and exports data from China offsetting weaker pharma shares.
At 0954 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was almost flat at 1,052.37 points after falling
to a low of 1,049.15 earlier. The index, which has surged 63
percent since hitting a record low a year ago, is up just 0.6
percent this year.
Mining shares were among the top gainers, with STOXX Europe
600 basic resources index <.SXPP> rising 1 percent after data
showing Chinese exports and imports grew faster than expected in
February raised hopes for a global economic recovery.
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BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and Eurasian
Natural Resources <ENRC.L> rose 0.5 to 1.7 percent.
But analysts advised caution following muted equity markets
in the past sessions, with the FTSEurofirst 300 falling 0.1
percent both in the previous session and on Monday after six
straight sessions of gains to six-week highs.
"Market volatility appears to have run out of steam for the
past few sessions. The triple-digit swings seem a distant
memory, as the past few trading days have been subdued," said
Owen Ireland, analyst at ODL Securities.
"A dearth of economic data can be pointed to, but today we
see a large number of economic releases from Europe and Asia to
give us some directional bias in the session."
Figures showed German exports posted their biggest drop in a
year in January, throwing the economy's main growth engine into
reverse and leaving it on a weak footing at the start of 2010.
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British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a speech at
Thomson Reuters in Canary Wharf that the economy was growing,
but the recovery was still in its early stages and remained very
fragile.
Banking shares also rose after opening lower, with the STOXX
Europe 600 banking index <.SX7P> rising 0.5 percent. Lloyds
<LLOY.L>, Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>,
Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> and Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA> rose
0.7 to 4 percent.
PHARMA STOCKS DOWN
Drugmakers were among the top decliners, with AstraZeneca
<AZN.L>, GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>, Merck <MRCG.DE>, Novartis
<NOVN.VX>, Novo Nordisk <NOVOb.CO>, Roche Holding <ROG.VX> and
Shire <SHP.L> down 0.1 to 0.7 percent.
Some analysts were bearish on the stock market's outlook.
"I have an impression that we are very much near the top.
All the people who were bullish have bought already, so there is
nobody left to buy," said Koen De Leus, economist at KBC
Securities.
"There are a lot of sentiment indicators that really
indicate to rough times ahead."
Among individual stocks, Munich Re <MUVGn.DE> was up 0.2
percent. The world's biggest reinsurer expects to earn a net
profit of more than 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion) this year
despite loss claims from an earthquake in Chile and European
wind storm Xynthia, it said on Wednesday. []
Swiss Re <RUKN.VX> was down 0.4 percent. The world's
second-biggest reinsurer said the insurance sector stood to lose
$4-$7 billion from the earthquake in Chile, a sum unlikely to
bring the long hoped-for increase in reinsurance prices.
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Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index <>, Germany's
DAX <> and France's CAC 40 <> rose 0.1-0.2 percent.
(Editing by Will Waterman)
