European shares fell at midday on Thursday, with banks suffering as worries about Greece's massive debts persisted, and with Nokia tumbling after it said margins would weaken, according to Reuters. At 1045 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.9 percent at 1,085.86 points, having been as high as 1,102.69 earlier in the session. The index is up more than 68 percent from a record low in early March last year. Greek banks were down 4.4 percent after Eurostat revised up Greece's budget deficit by nearly a full point to 13.6 percent of gross domestic product last year. Other banks to fall included BNP Paribas, Banco Santander, BBVA, Deutsche Bank, and Societe Generale, down between 2.3 and 3.3 percent. Credit Suisse's investment banking results came in below forecast-beating gains at U.S. peers, dragging shares down 5 percent even as the bank won new wealthy clients' money faster than in any quarter since 2005. Nokia cut the profit outlook for its key phone unit as the world's top cellphone maker struggles in the market for more expensive handsets, sending its shares tumbling 13 percent, though first-quarter profit rose. Sentiment was further hit after ratings agency Fitch said that Japan's sovereign creditworthiness was at risk from rising government debt. "The Greek news is dominating equity markets today," said Bob Parker, vice chairman of asset management at Credit Suisse. "The important point to note is that 10-year spreads relative to Germany are now over 5 percent. There is speculation that the Greeks may sign a package for EU/IMF aid, but they will tell bond investors that they have to take a haircut on the existing debt, or extend 5-year debt to 15 years." "One positive is that we're not seeing any contagion, and economic growth numbers and earnings are good, but in the short term investors are reducing risk because of the Greece uncertainty." Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 fell between 0.7 and 0.9 percent. -- SPA
