European shares slipped 1.2 percent early on Thursday, weighed by weakness in banks and commodity stocks, mirroring falls in Asia where exporters were hit by a decline in the dollar, Reuters reported. By 0811 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 3000 was down 12.14 points at 1,009.81. Financials were among to top losers, with Barclays, HSBC, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank falling between 1.6 and 2.3 percent. "There"s been a retracement in Asia overnight and the banking sector has taken a hit. There are ongoing concerns on the dollar," said Paul Webb, chief dealer at CMC Markets. The Shanghai composite index dropped 3.6 percent in heavy trade on Thursday, with banks weak, as investors fled the market amid mounting worries that the government may take steps to clamp down on surging asset prices. The dollar tumbled to its lowest level in 14 years against the yen and hit a 1-1/2-year low against the Swiss franc, tripping sell orders as investors sold on the view its broadbased weakness has further to go. The strengthening euro, which touched a 15-month high of $1.5145 against the greenback on Wednesday, has revived worries over European exporters" results. Metal prices and crude were weaker, hurting mining stocks and energy majors. Rio Tinto, Xstrata, Lonmin, Anglo American, Kazakhmys and Fresnillo were down 0.5 and 1.6 percent, while BP and Shell lost 0.5 and 0.8 percent respectively. U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving Day. France"s CAC, Germany"s DAX and Britain"s FTSE 100 were off between 0.6 and 0.8 percent.
