* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 1 pct after 6-day winning run
* Energy shares down, led lower by BP
* Banks, miners also under pressure
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - European shares declined about 1
percent by mid-morning Wednesday after rising the previous six
sessions, with British oil major BP <BP.L> leading the energy
sector down and banking shares coming under renewed pressure.
BP fell 3.5 percent on market talk the company was telling
analysts that its fourth-quarter earnings would be lower than
expected, three dealers said. BP declined comment.
At 0933 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 1 percent at 881.11 points after
finishing 1.9 percent higher in the previous trading session,
reaching its highest closing level since Nov. 10.
The index lost 45 percent in 2008.
Energy stocks also tracked crude <CLc1>, which fell as
profit taking outweighed escalating tensions in the Middle East
and widening supply cuts from the Russian gas row. Royal Dutch
Shell <RDSb.L> and GDF Suez <GSZ.PA> shed 0.8 to 2.1 percent.
Banks were lower, with Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>
declining 5.5 percent, Standard Chartered <STAN.L> losing 5.8
percent, HBOS <HBOS.L> down 1.5 percent, HSBC <HSBA.L> falling
1.4 percent and UBS <UBSN.VX> down 1.3 percent.
"The markets appear to be in limbo ... with two very
distinct camps. One side are observing the current facts -- poor
economic data, increased job losses, exacerbated by the news
from Alcoa last night, and worryingly slow retail numbers," said
Chris Hossain, senior sales manager at ODL Securities.
"The other camp are looking to the possibility of an
economic rebound, fuelled by lower interest rates and falling
energy and food costs. Market sentiment appears to be on hold."
Companies across the world continued to feel the impact of a
deep economic downturn. Alcoa Inc <AA.N>, the largest U.S.
aluminium producer, said it will slash more than 15,000 jobs,
halve capital spending and sell four businesses as it reduces
aluminium production.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> were down 0.4 to 1.3
percent.
POOR OUTLOOK
Grim corporate news continued to come in. The U.S.
operations of LyondellBasell, the world's third-largest
petrochemical company of which Swiss lender UBS <UBSN.VX> is a
major creditor, filed for bankruptcy protection under the weight
of a massive debt load and falling demand for its products.
British retailer Marks & Spencer <MKS.L> reported its worst
quarterly sales performance for a decade and said it would cut
around 1,230 jobs in a bid to save money in a tough trading
environment.
Concerns about a deep economic downturn continued to haunt
investors. Britain's Chancellor Alistair Darling also said the
UK was "far from through" the recession, and that the job to
achieve economic recovery was a long way from completion.
[]
Minutes of a December rate-setting meeting released on
Tuesday showed Federal Reserve officials believed the U.S.
economy would face "substantial" risks even as benchmark
interest rates were cut to near zero, with some worrying about
the risk of deflation.
Mining stocks fell as concerns mounted that a recession
would hurt demand for basic metals. BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Anglo
American <AAL.L>, Vedanta Resources <VED.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L> and Rio Tinto <RIO.L> dropped 0.3 to 4.1 percent.
Elsewhere Italy's Enel <ENEI.MI> was close to securing 8
billion euros ($10.7 billion) in financing to acquire Acciona's
<ANA.MC> 25 percent stake in Endesa <ELE.MC>, Cinco Dias
reported, citing unnamed sources close to the operation. Enel
was up 0.2 percent, while Endesa rose 1.4 percent.
(Editing by David Holmes)
