European shares fall on disappointing U.S. data

European shares fell on Thursday to a minimum of one month, after rising jobless claims for U.S. unemployment to a maximum of nine months and by the contraction of industrial activity in the northern East Coast.
The disappointing economic data pushed especially banking shares and commodities, which caused crashes Stoxx Europe 600 banking index, the index of basic resources and oil and gas index of between 1.9 and 2 percent.The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares fell for the second consecutive session, up 1.5 percent to 1036.84 points, its lowest close since July 21.
"Macroeconomic data once again exacerbated the doubts about the strength of the U.S. economy ahead of the second half, and increased concern that the economy and theey european shares may weaken more than expected," said Tammo Greetfeld, market strategist at UniCredit in Munich.

European shares fall

Financial stocks were among the worst performers. Shares of HSBC, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Crédit Agricole fell between 1.7 and 3.5 percent."Investors are wondering (...) increasingly far-reaching is really the central bank to successfully counter an economic downturn, if needed," he added.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose for the third consecutive week by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted rate of 500,000 in the U.S., while manufacturing activity in the northern Atlantic coast in August fell to its lowest point in more a year.European shares rose during the session because the German central bank, the Bundesbank, raised its forecast for growth of the country this year, but the gains evaporated after news of U.S. economic data.Shares of energy companies fell on fears that U.S. economic weakness affects demand for oil in the world's largest economy. Shares of BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total lost between 2.4 and 2.7 percent.Around Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 lost between 1.7 and 2.1 percent, while the rate of peripheral economies in the euro zone fell 2 Thomson Reuters , 1 percent.