Miners got strength from higher metals prices, with copper
<MCU3> rising 1 percent, aluminium up 0.7 percent and zinc
<MZN3> gaining 1 percent.
BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and ENRC <ENRC.L>
rose 1.7 to 2.9 percent.
But energy shares featured among the top losers, with Royal
Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, Tullow Oil <TLW.L>, Repsol <REP.MC>, Total
<TOTF.PA> and StatoilHydro <STL.OL> falling 0.1 to 0.8 percent.
Analysts said the market was expected to remain volatile in
coming sessions. The FTSEurofitst 300 is down 6 percent so far
this year after jumping 26 percent in 2009.
"Investors are rightly concerned about the timing of the
removal of extraordinarily loose fiscal and monetary policy. The
risk of default has increased and there is an uncertainty over
financial regulation," said Henk Potts, equity strategist at
Barclays Wealth.
"The credibility has been lost in terms of market
participants' belief in authorities to deal with many of these
problems. And that's creating the nervousness and has been
unsettling markets," he said, referring to fiscal problems in
countries such as Greece.
FINANCIALS ADVANCE
Banking shares <.SX7P>, which fell 6.4 percent last week,
were broadly in demand. Barclays <BARC.L>, Lloyds <LLOY.L>,
Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Societe
Generale <SOGN.PA>, Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA> and Credit Suisse
<CSGN.VX> rose 1.3 to 3.2 percent.
Banking group Swedbank <SWEDa.ST> was up 1.3 percent after
posting a fourth-quarter operating loss that was bigger than
market expectations, but said a profit for the full year in 2010
was "feasible". [ID:nSAT008354]
But UBS <UBSN.VX> shares fell 0.4 percent. The Swiss bank
posted its first quarterly net profit since Oswald Gruebel took
the helm a year ago, but client withdrawals rose well above
forecasts. [ID:nLDE61802M]
Swatch Group <UHR.VX>, the world's largest watchmaker by
sales, rose 5.6 percent after posting forecast-beating full-year
profit and confirmed its upbeat outlook for 2010, easing worries
a flagging economic recovery may hit demand.
Heidelberg <HDDG.DE>, the world's largest printing press
maker, rose 2.6 percent after posting a rare forecast-beating
quarter thanks to cost cuts and warned a turnaround in the print
industry remained elusive. [ID:nLDE61804I]
In macroeconomic news, British retail sales recorded their
worst performance for the month of January in at least 15 years,
even as separate figures showed house prices extended their
recent rise. [ID:nLDE617292]
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index <.FTSE>, Germany's
DAX <.GDAXI> and France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> were 0.3 to 0.7
percent higher.
(Editing by Hans Peters)