* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 1.6 percent, but up on the week
* Banks fall on euro zone debt worries
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - European shares fell in early
trade on Friday, tracking losses in Asia and the United States,
on mounting worries that tough new austerity measures in
southern Europe will dampen economic growth.
At 0900 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 1.6 percent at 1,032.82 points, after
rising 0.1 percent in the previous session to its highest close
in more than a week.
The European benchmark is still up nearly 7 percent this
week and up 60 percent from its lifetime low in March 2009.
Banks, major gainers on Monday when the index surged 7.4
percent, were among the biggest losers. Banco Santander
<SAN.MC>, BBVA <BBVA.MC>, Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA>, Societe
Generale <SOGN.PA> and Natixis <CNAT.PA> fell 4.2-6.8 percent.
Deutsche Bank and UBS <UBSN.VX>, among companies being
investigated by U.S. prosecutors, fell 2.7 percent and 2.2
percent respectively. []
Worries persisted that austerity measures taken by countries
such as Spain and Greece to tackle their debt will hurt economic
growth in the long term.
There were also worries about ability to repay debt. On
Thursday, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> Chief Executive Josef
Ackermann, cast doubt on Greece's ability to repay its debt in a
TV interview and said a $1 trillion euro zone rescue package
will help stabilise Italy and Spain, while the situation in
Portugal was more difficult.
Ackermann, one of Europe's top bankers, helped put together
a rescue package for Greece.
"It will take a long time, years, to prove whether the (euro
zone) austerity measures will be successful," said Bernard
McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> and France's CAC40
<> fell 1.3 percent and 2 percent respectively, while
Germany's DAX <> was down 0.8 percent.
The drop was steeper in Southern Europe, with Spain's IBEX
<> down 4 percent, Portugal's PSI 20 <> down 2.4
percent, and Italy's MIB <.FTMIB> down 3.2 percent.
Energy companies slipped, with crude prices <CLc1> having
fallen below $74 a barrel. A stronger dollar hurt prices, with
the euro falling to fresh 14-month lows on Friday as concerns
intensified that fiscal austerity measures in the euro zone
would dampen a fragile recovery and spark social unrest.
Total <TOTF.PA>, ENI <ENI.MI>, BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L> and Repsol <REP.MC> fell 1.4-2.5 percent.
Miners to fall on weaker metals prices included Anglo
American <AAL.L>, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp.<ENRC.L>, Rio
Tinto <RIO.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L>, down 2.3-4.7 percent.
WEAK EURO BOOSTS EADS
Among individual companies, planemaker EADS <EAD.PA> rose
2.8 percent, reaping the benefits of a weaker euro on Friday, as
it forecast an eventual boost from Europe's sliding currency and
predicting it would stay weak for some time.
Later in the session, investors will look at U.S. retail
sales data for fresh insight on the health of the economy.
"If the U.S. retail sales were disappointing, the market
could worry about final demand for a while," said McAlinden,
adding: "Interest rates are low and earnings are good, so there
should be a creeping tendency for markets to go higher".
Wall Street fell on Thursday, with the S&P 500 <.SPX> losing
1.2 percent. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 <> closed 1.5
percent lower on Friday, with disappointing outlook statements
such as Sony Corp <6758.T> weighing on the market.
(Editing by Dan Lalor)
