European shares turn negative; S&P comments weigh

LONDON Jan 28 (Reuters) - European shares turned negative in afternoon trade on Thursday as banks retreated from earlier gains after S&P said the UK banking system was no longer classified among the most stable and low-risk.

By 1515 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares was down 0.2 percent at 1,011.35 points after being up as high as 1,027.63 earlier.

Banks featured among the worst performers. Standard Chartered (STAN.L), Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) fell 0.4 to 1 percent.

"The Greece mess is ruining today's stock recovery, but frankly it shouldn't have such an impact on equities and in a sense, it's good for European multinationals because it's dragging down the euro," a London-based equity trader said. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson and Blaise Robinson)