Reply #44: European equities fall, snap 3-day winning streak

[Ghost Dog]

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20070717:MTFH65558_2007-07-17_17-05-51_L17828230&type=comktNews&rpc=44

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - European stocks closed lower on Tuesday as investors worrried about the impact of the troubles in the U.S. subprime market and weaker-than-expected German investment sentiment.

Oil firms slipped, with Total (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile , Research) down 1.1 percent and Eni (ENI.MI: Quote, Profile , Research) 0.4 percent lower as London Brent crude oil futures lost 1.6 percent to $75.0 a barrel after a recent rise.

Among losers, Novartis (NOVN.VX: Quote, Profile , Research) shed 1.1 percent after the Swiss drugmaker cut its 2007 sales forecasts and said two important new treatments faced delays in winning U.S. approval.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of leading European shares closed down 0.5 percent at 1,622.8, snapping a three-day winning run during which the index gained nearly 2 percent.

The benchmark hit a 6-1/2-year closing high on Monday and is still up about 9 percent so far this year.

Earlier, a survey by the ZEW economic think tank showed its economic sentiment indicator for Europe's largest economy, based on responses from analysts and institutional investors, fell to 10.4 this month from 20.3 in June.

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Around Europe, London's FTSE 100 .FTSE lost 0.6 percent, Paris's CAC-40 <.FCHI> shed 0.4 percent and Frankfurt's DAX <.GDAXI> declined 0.8 percent.

"Given the pattern of gently rising interest rates, equity markets may tend to mark time over the summer, in a traditional pattern, before picking up momentum in the autumn," Peter Thomson, chief investment officer at Taylor Young Investment Management said in a note.

Among gainers, Swedish white goods maker Electrolux (ELUXb.ST: Quote, Profile , Research) jumped 8.4 percent after it pleased investors with an unexpectedly strong quarter.

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