European shares fall on nagging debt jitters

PARIS: European stocks fell early on Tuesday, adding to the previous session's drop as investors continued to fret about Southern European countries' ability to tackle their debt problems and prevent borrowing costs from rising.

At 0803 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.6 percent at 969.83 points after losing 0.9 percent on Monday.

"The real drivers of this market are the bond yields," said Frederic Rozier, fund manager at Meeschaert Wealth Management, in Paris.

"Spain's ability to address its debt issue is being tested by the market right now, though record spreads between Bund yields and the French, Spanish and Italian yields are also due to the fact that Bund yields are dropping."

Banking stocks were among the biggest losers on Tuesday, with BNP Paribas down 1.5 percent and UBS down 1 percent.