Europe stocks under pressure from banks, unchanged rates (Reuters) (08-05-2008)

LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - European stocks retreated my 12:00 GMT after the BoE left the benchmark rate unchanged at 5% on Thursday, while the ECB also left rates unchanged at 4%.

Stock losses were limited by strong results from the Unilever conglomerate, which pushed up shares in the group by nearly 4 percent, making it the largest individual positive influence on the broader market.

At 1119 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.2 percent at 1,359.94 points, retreating from Wednesday's four-month closing high.

Bank weakness continued in the sector with UBS, Barclays and Societe Générale losing between 2 and 3 percent. Banks took a net 3.3 points off the index. Gainers in the sector included Swiss bank Julius Baer, which rose 2.8 percent after talk of bid interest from Britain's Standard Chartered while Lonmin, the world's third largest platinum producer, rallied 4.3 percent after posting a big profit jump.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday it is scrutinising the liquidity of the investment banks it supervises and is planning to require the top Wall Street firms to publicly disclose their currency liquidity and capital positions.

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Source Reuters