* FTSEurofirst 300 down 1.7 pct; biggest drop in 3 weeks
* Commodity shares under pressure as crude, metals slip
* Financials slip; Greece situation weighs on market
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - European shares slipped to their
lowest level in more than a week on Thursday due to
disappointing economic numbers and persistent concerns over
Greece's ability to manage its debt burden.
Investor appetite for risky assets such as equities fell,
with the VDAX-NEW volatility index <.V1XI> rising 2.5 percent.
The higher the index, which is based on sell and buy options on
Frankfurt's top-30 stocks <0#.GDAXI>, the lower the market's
desire to take risk.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
finished 1.7 percent lower at 996.73 points, the lowest close
since Feb 15. The index posted its biggest one-day decline in
about three weeks.
Energy shares were among the top decliners, also pressured
by a steep drop in crude oil <CLc1> on concerns over the outlook
for the European economy. BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>,
BG Group <BG.L>, Tullow Oil <TLW.L>, Repsol <REP.MC>, Total
<TOTF.PA> and StatoilHydro <STL.OL> shed 1.5 to 3.2 percent.
"I think macro-economic data is flattening out from an
uptrend which we saw last month, and that weighs on the market,"
said Giuseppe-Guido Amato, strategist at Lang & Schwarz in
Frankfurt.
Figures showed new orders for durable U.S. manufactured
goods excluding transportation unexpectedly fell in January,
while the number of workers filing for jobless benefits rose
last week, suggesting a loss of momentum in the pace of economic
recovery. []
Euro zone economic sentiment eased marginally in February
against January, dashing market expectations of a small rise.
The numbers followed Wednesday's data showing sales of newly
built U.S. single-family homes fell to a record low.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index <>, Germany's
DAX <> and France's CAC 40 <> fell1.2 to 2 percent.
FINANCIALS RETREAT
Financial stocks came under pressure following persistent
concerns about the debt situation in Greece. Credit rating
agency Moody's said a change in Greece's rating would depend on
the enactment of fiscal reform plans, and Standard & Poor's said
a one or two notch downgrade in the next month was possible.
[] and []
"The situation in Greece will cap the market. The risks for
the stock market are clearly on the downside," Amato said.
Among banks, Standard Chartered <STAN.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L>,
Barclays <BARC.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Societe Generale
<SOGN.PA>, Natixis <CNAT.PA>, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> and Banco
Santander <SAN.MC> fell 1 to 2.6 percent.
But Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> rose 6.2 percent as
investors were encouraged by a strong performance by its
investment banking arm and a more confident outlook for bad
debts. The bank still posted the largest European loss in its
sector for 2009.
France's biggest retail bank Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA>
outperformed the market by dropping just 0.2 percent after the
bank said it had made a good start to the year but had been hit
by losses in Greece.
"Riskier stocks have led us lower, with miners being badly
hit," said Angus Campbell, head of sales at Capital Spreads.
"There's also a little trepidation that tomorrow's
University of Michigan confidence number out from the U.S. will
disappoint, so for now investors are scurrying to safe havens."
Miners lost appeal as a stronger dollar put pressure on
metal prices. Copper <MCU3>, aluminium <MAL3>, zinc <MZN3> and
nickel <MNI3> fell 1 to 3.6 percent.
BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and Eurasian
Natural Resources <ENRC.L> were down 2.1 to 4.8 percent.
French aerospace group Safran <SAF.PA> climbed 10 percent
after it posted higher-than-expected 2009 operating profit and
predicted moderate further gains this year. []
(Editing by Will Waterman)
