European shares extend losses as CS, miners weigh

FRANKFURT, March 20 (Reuters) – European shares extended their losses in early trade on Thursday, as a profit warning from Credit Suisse kept credit market woes in the spotlight, while mining shares fell on lower commodity prices.

Credit Suisse shares slid more than 10 percent and were the strongest negative weight on the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index after the Swiss bank cautioned it was unlikely to be profitable in the first quarter due to big debt writedowns.

By 0853 GMT, the benchmark index was down 0.9 percent at 1,218.70 points, having fallen to as low as 1,217.51 points earlier in the session. It fell 0.9 percent on Wednesday, mainly due to technology and telecom stocks.

“The market is still driven by uncertainty,” said Britta Paech, portfolio manager at M.M. Warburg. “We continue to battle with the financial crisis and it’ll stay that way for a while.”

Falling oil and commodity prices drove mining and energy stocks lower. Anglo American fell 4.8 percent, BHP Billiton fell 3.3 percent and Rio Tinto eased 2.8 percent, while BP and Total each fell more than 1 percent.