* FTSEurofirst 300 ends flat after Monday's 3-month high
* BMW, Deutsche Post gain after upbeat results
* Disappointing U.S. macroeconomic data weighs on sentiment
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - European shares ended flat on
Tuesday as strong corporate results from the likes of Deutsche
Post offset some worries about the economic recovery fuelled by
disappointing U.S. data.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares ended barely changed at 1,070.79 points after closing at
a three-month high on Monday.
The index has gained almost 66 percent from its lifetime low
of March 9, 2009, but is down 4 percent from a 2010 peak in
mid-April.
Concern over the pace of economic recovery was reinforced by
data showing U.S. consumer spending and incomes were flat in
June while the index for pending sales of previously owned homes
fell to a record low. []
"A bout of weakness in the U.S. in reaction to
worse-than-expected home sales and factory orders data unsettled
traders, but these short-term dips are still tempting in some
buyers," said Will Hedden, sales trader at IG Index in London.
Among individual movers, Deutsche Post DHL <DPWGn.DE> added
3.7 percent. Europe's biggest mail and express delivery company
raised its 2010 outlook after global economic recovery boosted
freight volumes in the second quarter. []
Other gainers on the back of robust results included
Germany's BMW <BMWG.DE>, which rose 3.1 percent after the
world's top maker of luxury cars reported forecast-beating
profit for the second quarter. []
Heavyweight miners were among the decliners, with Anglo
American <AAL.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L> and Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> off
0.7 to 1.3 percent as metals prices retreated across the board.
Energy firms were higher. Crude prices <CLc1> pushed to
fresh three-month high above $82 a barrel as the dollar
weakened. BP <BP.L>, BG Group <BG.L> and Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L> added 0.6 to 0.8 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> ended flat,
Germany's DAX <> rose 0.3 percent and France's CAC 40
<> shed 0.1 percent.
In a positive sign for equities, the euro zone's blue-chip
STOXX Europe 50 index <> held above a key technical
level for the second day in a row.
The index closed 0.1 percent lower at 2,818.97 points, but
above the 2,805.95 level which represents a 61.8 percent
Fibonacci retracement of the fall to its May low from a high in
April.
BANKS MIXED
Banks gave up some of Monday's sharp gains, with Barclays
<BARC.L> and Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> off 0.4 and 2 percent
respectively, while Standard Chartered <STAN.L> added 2.2
percent ahead of first-half results due on Wednesday.
Heavyweight HSBC <HSBA.L> fell 1.3 percent, retreating after
Monday's gains on forecast-beating results as broker RBS
downgraded the stock to "hold" from "buy".
Broker comments also weighed on Yara International <YAR.OL>,
which lost 3.1 percent as Credit Suisse cut its recommendation
on the Norwegian firm to "neutral" from "outperform".
Among other fallers, Investec <INVP.L>, the South African
investment bank and asset manager, fell 5.7 percent after saying
it had raised 104.5 million pounds ($161.6 million) in a share
placing. The company is looking to shore up its capital base.
On the upside, Centrica <CNA.L> added 3.6 percent as Goldman
Sachs raised its earnings forecasts and repeated its "buy"
rating on Britain's biggest gas supplier.
(Editing by Michael Shields)
