European stocks ended lower on Tuesday, dropping for the third straight session and hitting a four-month low as the lack of political consensus to tackle the region's debt crisis kept investors on edge, Reuters reported. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares unofficially ended 0.5 percent lower at 1,092.31 points in heavy volumes, but the index managed to close off the session's low of 1,068.92 points -- a level not seen since mid-March. Italian banks rose sharply, with UniCredit , UBI Banca and Banca Popolare di Milano rising 5.5-7.3 percent, a rally mainly seen by traders as short covering following steep losses in the past few days and after new disclosure requirements from Italian market regulator Consob on short positions unveiled on Sunday. Other banks ended well in the red, with UBS down 1.9 percent and Deutsche Bank down 1.2 percent. -- SPA
