European shares extended losses in afternoon trade on Friday as the banking sector lost further ground after U.S. home finance company Fannie Mae posted its fourth straight quarterly loss, Reuters reported. By 1316 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 0.8 percent to 1,180.65 points, having hit a session low of 1179.92. The banking sector was the largest negative weight on the index and the DJ Stoxx European banks lost 1.4 percent. Barclays was down 4 percent and UBS was down 1.7 percent. Fannie Mae said it would slash its dividend more than 85 percent and take other steps to shore up its capital position.
