* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 1.1 pct
* Oils, mining stocks slip, track weaker commodity prices
* U.S. consumer confidence, new homes data awaited
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - European shares slipped on
Tuesday as concerns about the global economic and financial
sector outlook kept investors jumpy and business sentiment
continued to slide.
At 0836 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 1.1 percent at 1,156.43 points. The
index lost 0.6 percent on Monday, when the UK stock market was
closed for a holiday.
Tough market conditions were highlighted by a report showing
German corporate sentiment fell by more than expected in August,
dragged down by a sharp deterioration in companies' business
expectations. []
Weaker consumer spending led to a contraction of the German
economy in the second quarter of this year for the first time
since 2004 and household morale was poised to deteriorate
further, data showed.
Banks were the heaviest-weighted losers on the FTSEurofirst
300, followed by energy and mining sectors that tracked weaker
commodities prices.
Lloyds TSB <LLOY.L> shed more than 3 percent, Bank of
Ireland <BKIR.I> fell 2.3 percent, Royal Bank of Scotland
<RBS.L> fell 2.3 percent and Standard Chartered <STAN.L>
declined 2.8 percent.
"There are too many banks and not enough business," said
Justin Urquhart-Stewart, director at 7 Investment Management.
"More pain is also expected in the U.S. housing market with
investors still waiting for the bottom," he added.
Investors await U.S. consumer confidence and new homes data
later in the session for clearer market direction in the near
term.
The FTSEurofirst 300 is down nearly 2 percent so far this
month and is on track for its ninth month of losses in the last
10.
Across Europe, Britain's commodity-heavy FTSE 100 <>
was down 2 percent, Germany's DAX <> was down 0.4 percent
and France's CAC <> fell 1 percent.
MINERS TRACK METAL PRICES
Mining shares fell, tracking a retreat in Shanghai copper
prices and other metals amid renewed concerns about Chinese
demand and world economic growth.
Xstrata <XTA.L> gave up 4.4 percent, Anglo American <AAL.L>
slipped 4.2 percent and Antofagasta <ANTO.L> dropped 3.8
percent.
The gloomy sentiment pulled Rio Tinto <RIO.L> down more than
3 percent despite it posting better than expected results with
underlying earnings up 55 percent. []
Weaker crude oil prices, which fell sharply in the past
sessions and traded below $115 a barrel, weighed on oil and
energy shares.
BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, Tullow Oil <TLW.L>
and BG Group <BG.L> fell between 2.3 and 3.5 percent.
Investors remained cautious in picking stocks, as the global
economic outlook continued to be poor.
The International Monetary Fund has trimmed its world
economic growth forecasts for this year and next, largely due to
a marked worsening in its outlook for the euro zone, a G20
finance official told Reuters on Monday.
"Poor growth figures from the IMF is a another dose of
realism for Europe. The Eurozone lags the U.S. and the UK and
this is more evidence that there has been too much overspending
and it is likely Merkel and Sarkozy will have to implement
reform processes for things to start to improve," said Stewart.
Underlining difficult market conditions, data showed that
German consumer sentiment deteriorated by more than expected
heading into next month, hurt by concerns about the economic
outlook and hitting a fresh 5-year low.
(Additional reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Quentin
Bryar)
