LONDON: European shares hit their lowest in more than a week on Monday, with investors selling riskier assets ahead of a meeting of the euro zone finance ministers which is likely to press Greece to take more austerity steps.
The ministers are likely to back a bailout package for Portugal, with new conditions set by Finland, in talks overshadowed by charges against IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn for attempted rape.
At 0709 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.5 percent at 1,134.89 points after falling to a low of 1,132.56 -- the lowest since May 6.
"We are seeing the signs of nervousness perhaps in trying to establish a very decisive policy framework to get the euro zone settled. There might be some complications involved, but hopefully that will happen," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
"I don't think that the fundamental picture is that bad at all. We saw incredibly strong growth out of France and Germany and we are getting to see growth in the US non-farm payrolls. And the earnings results that we have seen were pretty good, on balance."
Automobile shares feature among the top decliners, tracking a wider market sell-off, with the sector index down 1.4 percent.
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