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European shares fall after drop in Chicago PMI

Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:03am EDT

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LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - European shares turned negative on Wednesday afternoon after U.S. stocks opened lower and after business activity in the U.S. Midwest failed to return to growth in September and contracted.

At 1359 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was 1 percent lower at 992.59 points, and had hit a new day's low of 992.28. But the index was still on track to post its best quarterly gains in nearly 10 years.

Banks were among the top losers, with BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX), HSBC (HSBA.L), UBS (UBSN.VX) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) down 2-4.1 percent.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer fell to 46.1 in September from 50 in August. Economists had forecast a reading of 52.0. (Reporting by Dominic Lau)



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