European shares hit by Moody's ratings moves

LONDON Feb 14 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Tuesday after rating agency Moody's put the United Kingdom's triple-A rating in jeopardy for the first time and warned it may cut France and Austria as well, while downgrading six euro zone nations including Spain and Italy.

Investors were also worried about whether the European Union and the IMF would accept the fresh austerity cuts approved by the Greek parliament needed to avoid a chaotic default.

"Moody's UK warning is not great for the market, and investors do take notice if France gets cut as it could impact its ability to raise capital," said Andrea Williams, who manages $2.1 billion for Royal London Asset Management.

"Greece is still in the background and with all the austerity cuts which are happening in Europe it just goes to show how much the economies are suffering."

French banks which have exposure to euro zone sovereign debt were among the worst performers, with BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole down 2.1 to 2.8 percent.

By 0806 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.3 percent at 1,068.35 points. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson)