Banks and Technology Leading European Stocks down (Reuters) (16-01-2008)

LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - European shares tumbled upon opening on Wednesday affected by banks that fell on U.S. recession fears, while tech stocks were also down on a grim outlook from Intel and a disappointing update from Dutch group ASML.

By 0914 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares, which is already down almost 9% since the beginning of the year, was down 1.05 percent at 1,380.69 points. Yesterday it lost 2.6 percent following the announcement by Citigroup of a record $10 billion quarterly loss.

HSBC was once again the biggest negative weight on the index, falling 2.5 percent, while Commerzbank shed nearly 6 percent and Barclays fell 2.7 percent.

Tech stocks came under pressure after earnings from Intel missed forecasts and the company issued a dour outlook on Tuesday, while in Europe, ASML, which supplies most of the world's top chip makers, fell by more than 10 percent after reporting a recovery in quarterly unit orders but an unexpected fall in order value. Shares in Germany's Infineon fell 4.2 percent.

After Citigroup's record loss and a shock fall in monthly U.S. retail sales, investors will turn their attention on results from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. The data calendar includes consumer price inflation due at 1330 GMT and industrial production at 1415 GMT.

Evidence of slowing economic growth outside the United States and beyond the housing market has raised fears that the credit crisis will have a broader impact than originally thought.

In the commodities sector, shares in Rio Tinto shares fell nearly 4 percent after a trading update from the company, which is fighting a takeover approach from rival BHP Billiton.

Vedanta Resources lost 3 percent, while Antofagasta fell 3.2 percent and Xstrata fell 4.1 percent.

Among European markets, London's FTSE 100 index fell 1.3 percent, while Frankfurt's DAX dropped 1.0 percent and Paris' CAC 40 lost 1.1 percent.

Defensive stocks were once again in positive territory, with utilities, drug makers and food producers the top three positive influences on the broader market.

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