STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-UK small caps weak, but outperform larger caps

The FTSE Small Cap index and junior-listed AIM shares shed 0.1 percent and 0.4 percent respectively, outperforming the broader market, with the mid-caps off 1 percent and the blue chips 1.5 percent lower.

Max Petroleum (Other OTC: MXPTF - news) , an oil and gas company focused on Kazakhstan, drops 21 percent after saying it has started a cost-cutting programme, reflecting its shift from exploration & development to production, aimed at boosting cash flow.

"With the cash flow will inevitable come opportunity, it is just going to take longer than the Company, or investors, first believed," analysts at SP Angel write in a note.

Technology solutions provider e2v technologies falls 4 percent after flagging in a trading update that end markets remain challenging, particularly the U.S. defence and machine vision sectors.

"There are signs that the soft market trends are stabilising, but we remain cautious on the short-term outlook," Investec Securities says in a note.

Reuters messaging rm://tricia.wright1.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net