European shares fall in early trade, led by oils

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-26 18:30

LONDON - European shares fell in early trade on Wednesday, snapping a two-day gain, with oil stocks the biggest casualties.

At 0808 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 1.2 percent at 823.16 points.

The index rose 0.6 percent on Tuesday and 8.9 percent on Monday but has lost more than 44 percent this year, hurt by the credit crisis and economic slowdown.

"The Fed's move (to encourage lending) was taken low-key by the market," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin.

"You can't force banks to lend if they don't want to. Earnings worries are still there. Markets are waiting to see a deceleration of the rate of economic decline. If there are signs of stability, we could have a rally."

Crude prices slipped 0.6 percent to $50.48 a a barrel. Total , ENI, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and BG fell between 1.5 and 2.5 percent.