* FTSEurofirst 300 index little changed
* Banks under pressure, HSBC dips
* Utilities gain; Snam Rete Gas rises
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - European shares were little
changed in late morning trade on Thursday as weaker banking and
commodity stocks offset gains in utilities and automobiles.
By 1013 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <>
index of top shares was up 0.03 percent at 1,059.14 points after
closing at a seven-week high on Wednesday.
Banking stocks took the most points off the index. HSBC
<HSBA.L> dipped 0.4 percent after the company said the theft of
data by a former employee affected about 15,000 Swiss client
accounts, after previously saying it affected "less than 10
clients". []
Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Societe
Generale <SOGN.PA> and Barclays <BARC.L> lost 0.6-0.8 percent.
"The Chinese inflation figures add a little bit more worry
in regard to the actions the Chinese will take to try and
control the economy," said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at
Seven Investment Management.
"There is the concern that they will take too strong an
action and that will reverberate back onto Europe... The last
thing we need to see is China trying to slow itself down."
Chinese consumer inflation spurted to a 16-month high in
February and a raft of economic data displayed broad-based
strength, providing fresh arguments for policy tightening sooner
rather than later. []
Energy stocks featured among the worst performers. BG Group
<BG.L>, BP <BP.L> and Dana Petroleum <DNX.L> slipped 0.3 to 0.6
percent.
Miners eased as copper <MCU3=LX> dipped 0.3 percent. Anglo
American <AAL.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Eurasian Natural
Resources Corporation <ENRC.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and Xstrata
<XTA.L> fell 0.3 to 1.5 percent.
UTILITIES GAIN
Utilities added the most points to the index. Snam Rete Gas
<SRG.MI> was up 1.3 percent after it left its capital spending
for the period 2010-2013 unchanged and expected an annual
dividend growth of 4 percent dividend. []
Carmarkers were in favour, with Volkswagen <VOWG.DE> 1.5
percent higher after the company said sales revenue and
operating profit are to rise in 2010.
Retailers were in demand, Home Retail <HOME.L> gained 2.2
percent after it nudged up its year profit guidance.
[]
Belgian supermarket group Delhaize <DELB.BR> rose 0.7
percent after it said further cost cuts would help this year's
operating profit to grow more strongly than it did in 2009, when
it exceeded its own guidance. []
German process engineering company GEA <G1AG.DE> soared 6.8
percent after it stuck to its mid-term operating margin goal of
12 percent in reporting results, but said it could take up to
three years to recover from the effects of the global economic
crisis. []
On the downside, insurer Old Mutual <OML.L> dipped 2.9
percent after it said it planned to sell its life business and
partly float its asset management operation in the United States
as part of a strategic shake-up aimed at simplifying its complex
structure. []
German salt and potash miner K+S <SDFG.DE> fell 2.3 percent
after fourth-quarter results failed to impress. []
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was down 0.1
percent, Germany's DAX <> was up 0.1 percent and France's
CAC 40 <> fell 0.2 percent.
(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Mike Nesbit)
