European shares fall in early trade, banks slide
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
LONDON, Apr 19 (Reuters): European shares fell in early trade Monday, with banks extending declines from Friday, when Goldman Sachs was charged with fraud, and airlines sliding as flying restrictions persisted.
At 0704 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 1 per cent at 1,084.48 points, after falling 1.5 per cent in the previous session, when the US Securities and Exchange Commission said it was charging Goldman Sachs with fraud.
Banks to fall included BNP Paribas, Banco Santander, Credit Suisse, HSBC and UBS, down between 1.1 and 2.8 per cent.
Airlines to fall, as a cloud of volcanic ash continued to cause massive flight cancellations, included Lufthansa and British Airways, down 5.5 and 6.4 per cent respectively.
"(The market going lower) is a combination of Goldman, the ubiquitous ash, and also some looking for an excuse to say 'it's gone too far, too fast'," said Justin Urquhart-Stewart, investment director at Seven Investment Management in London.
The FTSEurofirst 300 is up more than 68 per cent from its lifetime low of March 9, 2009. Philips, however, rose 4.3 per cent after quarterly results.
At 0704 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 1 per cent at 1,084.48 points, after falling 1.5 per cent in the previous session, when the US Securities and Exchange Commission said it was charging Goldman Sachs with fraud.
Banks to fall included BNP Paribas, Banco Santander, Credit Suisse, HSBC and UBS, down between 1.1 and 2.8 per cent.
Airlines to fall, as a cloud of volcanic ash continued to cause massive flight cancellations, included Lufthansa and British Airways, down 5.5 and 6.4 per cent respectively.
"(The market going lower) is a combination of Goldman, the ubiquitous ash, and also some looking for an excuse to say 'it's gone too far, too fast'," said Justin Urquhart-Stewart, investment director at Seven Investment Management in London.
The FTSEurofirst 300 is up more than 68 per cent from its lifetime low of March 9, 2009. Philips, however, rose 4.3 per cent after quarterly results.