European shares dented by Greek bailout hurdles

LONDON Feb 16 (Reuters) - European shares opened lower on Thursday, with investor sentiment hit by further hurdles in the Greek bailout deal and by the propsects of more ratings downgrades for the region's financial institutions.

Euro zone officials are considering the possibility of delaying part or all of the rescue deal which Greece needs in order to avoid a messy default.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index was down 0.9 percent at 1,066.22 by 0806 GMT, retreating from the previous session's six-month intra-day highs as investors locked in some of the profits from a rally which has seen the market jump 18 percent since late November.

The FTSE and the CAC 40 each lost around 0.9 percent, while the DAX was down 1.3 percent.

"It's mostly because of the Greek issue," Francois Duhen, strategist at CM-CIC Securities in Paris, said. "The stock exchange rebound was too fast."

Also weighing on sentiment was weak investment data from China - a key consumer - and Moody's warning that it may cut ratings for 17 global and 114 European financial institutions.

The banking sector fell 1.6 percent.

On the flip side, strong results boosted Cap Gemini and Renault.