Markets

Europe shares reverse 3-day rally as banks drop

Published Updated

At 0804 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.9 percent at 939.62 points, after gaining 6.5 percent since a low hit on Friday.

Barclays, HSBC and UBS, downgraded by S&P, were down 1.5-1.8 percent.

"The market remains headline-driven," said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading, at Global Equities.

"But we're starting to see big institutional investors coming back, mostly through equity futures to minimise the risks."

Copyright Reuters, 2011