EUROPEAN SHARES SLIPPED EARLY ON THURSDAY, TRACKING WALL STREET'S FALL OVERNIGHT, ON CONCERNS ABOUT SECOND-QUARTER EARNINGS, OIL PRICES NEAR NEW RECORD HIGHS AND TENSIONS IN BOTH THE MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA, REUTERS REPORTED. TECHNOLOGY SHARES AND CAR MAKERS LED THE MARKET LOWER, WITH CARREFOUR BUCKING THE TREND. THE FRENCH RETAILER ADDED 0.5 PERCENT AFTER A FORECAST-BEATING 8.5 PERCENT RISE IN SECOND-QUARTER SALES. THE FTSEUROFIRST 300 OF TOP EUROPEAN SHARES WAS DOWN 0.9 PERCENT AT 1,300.76 POINTS BY 0715 GMT, WEIGHED DOWN BY WORRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST WHERE ISRAELI AIRCRAFT ATTACKED BEIRUT AIRPORT AND A DIPLOMATIC STAND-OFF BETWEEN IRAN AND THE WEST SEEMED TO BE AT AN IMPASSE. INVESTORS WERE ALSO EDGY AFTER CHINA SAID IT HAD MADE NO BREAKTHROUGH URGING NORTH KOREA TO DISARMAMENT TALKS. OIL PRICES FLIRTING WITH NEW RECORD HIGHS ALSO SAPPED SENTIMENT AS THEY REKINDLED WORRIES ABOUT INFLATION AND CRIMPED CONSUMPTION. THE LATEST OIL RISE LENT NO SUPPORT TO THE ENERGY SECTOR, WHICH WAS DOWN 0.3 PERCENT. BOMBINGS THIS WEEK IN INDIA, RECENT MISSILE TESTS BY NORTH KOREA AND THE IRAN NUCLEAR SPAT ARE KEY AGAIN TO OIL AND METALS PRICES, WHEN A FORTNIGHT AGO CENTRAL BANKS HAD APPEARED TO DECIDE THE DIRECTION FOR THESE ASSETS. THE BENCHMARK FTSEUROFIRST 300 INDEX HAS SEE-SAWED WITH A NARROW 25-POINT MARGIN SINCE THE START OF JULY AS INFLATION AND INTEREST RATE WORRIES RECEDED SLIGHTLY, BUT INVESTORS WERE UNABLE TO FIND A CATALYST TO GO BACK TO THE MARKET IN FORCE.
