European shares steady as earnings mixed

LONDON Feb 23 (Reuters) - European shares steadied on Thursday amid mixed results in the banking sector, with Natixis jumping after forecast beating results and Commerzbank sinking as earnings were hit by the euro zone debt crisis.

French bank Natixis rose 3.9 percent after results beat forecasts, while Germany's Commerzbank slumped 7.7 percent after its fourth quarter earnings were hit by Greek writedowns and it said euro zone worries will continue to be a threat.

"It is early days, banks have been deleveraging their balance sheets to give them a stronger capital ratio, which is the right thing, although it will mean lower returns in the longer-term," said Andrea Williams, who manages $2.1 billion for Royal London Asset Management.

"We are invested in the Scandinavian banks such as DNB as countries in this region are not as exposed to the euro zone debt crisis.

At 0817 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was flat at 1,077.02 points.