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European shares fall for 3rd day; M&A boosts telecoms
* FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.4 pct
* Oil stocks fall as dollar strengthens
* T. Italia lead gains in telecoms on Brazilian bid speculation
By Francesco Canepa
LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - European shares slipped for a third straight session on Tuesday, with companies that trade dollar-denominated commodities such as oil taking a hit as investors shortened the odds on an early hike in U.S. interest rates.
Research from Federal Reserve economists published late on Monday showed Fed members expect a higher trajectory for interest rates than investors, boosting bond yields and sending the dollar to a 14-month high against the euro.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of European shares closed 0.4 percent lower at 1,385.51 points, further retreating from a 6-1/2-year high hit on Thursday, at the peak of a four-week rally.
"As the bond markets all gently back up in yield, the equities look round wondering where the prop was that they were resting on," Andy Ash, head of sales at Monument Securities, said.
"Certainly currency moves are still supporting the global dollar carry trade: out of everything else into dollars. That tends to not be good for lesser asset classes in 'everything else' land while the dollar still strengthens."
Crude and other commodities which depend on economic growth fell after the Fed's report, pushing shares in oil majors such as Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: R6C1.DE - news) , whose two listings fell 1 percent and 1.5 percent.
On the flip side, the diverging paths of the Fed and the European Central Bank, which cut rates again last week, pressured the euro, boosting the competitiveness of euro zone exporters.
"The earnings momentum has been negative since 2011 and has remained negative so far this year, and currency headwinds have been partly responsible for that," said Ludovic Dufour, portfolio manager at Mandarine Gestion in Paris.
"But given the speed at which the euro is falling now, we may finally see the end of the forecast downgrades."
Analysts at Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS - news) said they expected the euro's weakness and further stimulus from the ECB to help demand for European steel and upgraded ArcelorMittal (Other OTC: AMSYF - news) to "outperform" from "neutral".
TELECOMS OUTPERFORM
Telecoms shares outperformed, however, helped by fresh mergers and acquisition speculation.
Telecom Italia (Other OTC: TIAJF - news) rose 3 percent after America Movil said it would hold talks with Brazil's Oi SA (NYSE: OIBR - news) over joining its bid to buy Telecom Italia's Brazil unit.
Marco Fossati, an investor in the Italian firm, said last week any offer for TIM Brasil should value the Brazilian wireless company at around 11 times core earnings.
"It is expected that the offer will be generous," a Milan-based analyst said, highlighting that Spain's Telefonica recent offer for Brazilian broadband firm GVT valued the group at 12 times core earnings.
French media company Vivendi picked Telefonica for exclusive talks over the sale of GVT last month, spurning a rival bid from Telecom Italia.
Europe bourses in 2014: http://link.reuters.com/pap87v
Asset performance in 2014: http://link.reuters.com/gap87v
Today's European research round-up (Additional reporting by Atul Prakash in London and Blaise Robinson in Paris; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
