European shares set for eighth straight day of losses, Moller-Maersk drops

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - European shares fell in early deals on Wednesday, set for their eighth day of straight losses, with sentiment hit by jitters ahead of the U.S. presidential election next week and a fall in A.P. Moller-Maersk after results.

The STOXX 600 index dropped 0.8 percent, hitting its lowest level since July 11, with all sectors in negative territory. Wall Street and Asian shares fell after polls showed that Republican Donald Trump was closing the gap on Democrat Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential race ahead of next Tuesday's vote.

Banking stocks were the top sectoral fallers, down 2.1 percent and extending their losses from the previous session, with Italian lender Banco Populare and Danske Bank among the biggest decliners.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Banca Monte dei Paschi (Milan: BMPS.MI - news) di Siena fell 6 percent in early trade, triggering an automatic trading suspension, after the withdrawal of an alternative rescue plan for Italy's third-largest lender.

Shares in container shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk slumped more than 7 percent after the firm's earnings missed forecasts with a 44 percent fall in third-quarter profit.

On the positive side, results boosted shares in Hugo Boss (LSE: 0Q8F.L - news) which jumped 6.5 percent after beating third-quarter profit forecasts. (Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Alistair Smout)