European shares end flat; Philips slips

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 index ends flat
                                
 * Capita rises on Capgemini MoU
                                
 * Philips falls on cautious targets
                                
 
                                
 By Joanne Frearson
                                
 LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - European shares ended flat on
Tuesday, with outsource firm Capita <CPI.L> higher after
investors were reassured about public sector contracts, while
Dutch group Philips <PHG.AS> fell as it gave cautious targets.
                                
 Although the market got some support after
better-than-expected U.S. retail sales, investors remained
unconvinced about shifting into riskier asset classes and gold,
which is viewed as a safe haven, hit a record high.
                                
 The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
shares closed 0.03 percent lower at 1,087.63 points, after
closing on Monday at its highest level since late April.
                                
 "We still look like we are trading in a tight range and
investors are focused on short-term news flow," said David
Hussey, head of Pan European Equities at MFC Global Investment
Management (Europe).
                                
 "Investors are still cautious as not so long ago the market
was worried about a double-dip recession, and if we get more bad
news the equity markets could react badly again. We are just
bouncing around until we know what type of recovery it will be."
                                
 Outsourcing group Capita <CPI.L> gained 2.9 percent after
Capgemini UK announced it signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with the UK government, which reassured investors about
public sector contracts.
                                
 Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa <GAM.MC> surged 9.6 percent
tracking recent gains in larger Danish peer Vestas <VWS.CO>, as
rumours of consolidation in the sector reinforced positive
investment and contract news, dealers and analysts said.
                                
 Vestas Wind was 3.4 percent higher.
                                
 
                                
 PHILIPS SLIPS
                                
 Dutch electronics company Philips <PHG.AS> fell 3.9 percent,
after the company unveiled growth targets which analysts said
were not ambitious.
                                
 "Vision 2015 does not contain a major surprise; the targets
are slightly more cautious than we had expected," SNS Securities
analyst Victor Bareno said.
                                
 Shares in British chip designer ARM Holdings <ARM.L> fell 4
percent on Tuesday after traders pointed to insider selling.
Directors and executives of the company sold shares on Friday
and Monday.
                                
 Utility shares featured among the worst performers. German
utilities RWE <RWEG.DE> and E.ON <EONGn.DE> slipped 1.8 percent
and 3.4 percent, respectively, with traders citing a flurry of
negative analyst notes that weigh on the companies.
                                
 UniCredit downgraded E.ON to "hold" from "buy", and traders
said Societe Generale cut RWE to "sell" from "hold".
                                
 The Euro STOXX 50 <.STOXX50E>, the euro zone's blue-chip
index, was 0.05 percent higher at 2,806.47 points, holding above
the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement of the index's fall from
an April high to a May low.
                                
 The STOXX Europe 600 <.STOXX> one-year forward
price-to-earnings stood at about 9.89 against a 10-year average
of 13.62, Thomson Reuters Datastream showed.
                                
 Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index was 0.03 percent
higher, Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> gained 0.2 percent and France's
CAC 40 <.FCHI> rose 0.2 percent.
 (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Sharon Lindores)