* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 0.2 percent
* Banking and insurance down; mining and energy up
* Eyes on dollar-euro exchange rate, U.S. data
By Peter Starck
FRANKFURT, Sept 11 (Reuters) - European stocks fell early on
Thursday as gains for mining stocks thanks to higher metals
prices were offset by weak financials, led by French insurer AXA
<AXAF.PA>.
By 0815 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 0.2 percent at 1,145.53 points. It has
lost 24 percent this year, hammered by recession and inflation
fears as well as worries about the impact of the credit market
crisis on the financial industry.
"High volatility in the international financial sector
remains a constraining factor for buying appetite," Greek ATE
Securities said in a morning note to clients.
AXA fell 2.8 percent after UBS downgraded the stock to
"neutral" from "buy". The DJ Stoxx European insurance index
<.SXIP> was down 1.2 percent and the banking index <.SX7P> lost
1.1 percent.
"According to the estimates of our bank analysts, global
banks lost $636 billion during the crisis so far," Italy's
UniCredit said in a note, comparing that figure to the
International Monetary Fund's estimate for total sector losses
of $1 trillion.
"There is still some way to go until the end of the crisis,
and we expect that the Q3 earnings release season will show more
losses," UniCredit said.
Germany's Deutsche Postbank <DPBGn.DE> fell 4.5 percent
after news that the country's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank
<DBKGn.DE>, was about to acquire a stake in the retail bank.
"Such a deal might limit the upside (for Postbank's share
price) ... as the new shareholder structure would limit takeover
fantasy," brokerage Equinet said in a note.
DOLLAR STRENGTH
Shares in European aerospace group EADS <EAD.PA>, the parent
of airplane maker Airbus, rose 1.9 percent, with traders citing
the stronger dollar.
The dollar rallied to one-year highs against the euro <EUR=>
-- a shift that ought to help European exporting companies -- on
the view that the U.S. currency was a safe buy as the market
remains swept up in a wave of risk aversion. The euro fell as
far as $1.3923, its weakest since September 2007.
Commerzbank pinpointed $1.3830/50 as the next important
support level.
Copper and gold prices firmed, helping miners such as Anglo
American <AAL.L>, up 3.2 percent, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, up 2.2
percent, and Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, up 2.1 percent.
"The market's focus will return to the sector's attractive
cashflow profile particularly amongst the bulk commodity miners
who are beginning to reap the rewards of the huge price
increases witnessed at the end of the first half," Cazenove said
in a note.
The oil price held near $102 a barrel and index-heavy energy
stocks such as BP <BP.L>, ENI <ENI.MI>, Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L> and Total <TOTF.PA> gained between 1 and 2 percent.
German bank Helaba said U.S. economic data due later in the
session could give new impulses for Europe's stock markets.
U.S. international trade figures, export and import prices
for August as well as weekly jobless claims are due at 1230 GMT.
Dutch bank ING said the import price data would provide a
first glimpse of the impact of the drop in the oil price from
$150 a barrel in mid-July to just over $100 currently.
"A decline in core import prices should help to ease worries
about U.S. inflation," ING said.
Britain's FTSE 100 <> was down 0.3 percent, Germany's
DAX <> fell 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 <> lost
0.2 percent.
(Editing by Paul Bolding)
