This diary lists upcoming G8/G20 Summits and related meetings

  All times in GMT unless otherwise stated

  Items marked ** denote new or amended listings.

  2011 THURSDAY, MARCH 31

  NANJING, China - G20 seminar on reshaping the global monetary system, attended by academics, economists, central bankers and finance ministers.

 

  APRIL 2011 (UNDATED)

  PARIS - G20 Economy and Energy ministers meet to discuss the impact of the disaster in Japan on the world economy.

 

  THURSDAY, APRIL 14 ** WASHINGTON - G20 finance ministers meeting.

 

  Next G8 summit will take place in Deauville sometime at the end of June or early July

 

  THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3

  (TBC) CANNES - G20 Summit (to Nov. 4)

(Adds market reaction, comment, details)

  NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence fell in March a month after hitting a three-year high as expectations about jobs and income growth worsened, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

  The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 63.4 in March from an upwardly revised 72.0 in February.

  The median of forecasts from analysts polled by Reuters was for a reading of 65.0. Forecasts ranged from 55.0 to 72.0.

  " Rising gasoline prices, and a range of other uncertainties are taking a toll on the consumer," said Peter Buchanan, senior economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto.

  The expectations index slipped to 81.1 from 97.5, while consumers' expectations for inflation in the coming 12 months hit the highest level since October 2008.

  The present situation index rose to 36.9 from 33.8.

  Consumers' labor market assessment worsened. The " jobs hard to get" index rose to 44.6 percent from 44.4 percent the month before, while the " jobs plentiful" index slipped to 4.4 percent from 4.9 percent.

  The cutoff date for the consumer confidence survey was March 16.

  Political uncertainty in the Middle East and North Africa, which has led to a rise in oil prices, has weighed on consumers.

  Confidence may have been impacted by Japan's devastating earthquake on March 11, which triggered a tsunami and nuclear crisis and roiled global markets.

  Financial markets showed a muted reaction to the data, which followed a report last week showing U.S. consumer sentiment at its lowest level in more than a year as gasoline and food prices rose.

  U.S. stock indexes < .DJI> < .SPX> were little changed. Treasury prices < US10YT=> were mostly stable, while the dollar fell slightly against the euro < EUR=> .

  Global uncertainty and rising inflation also took a toll on German consumer sentiment, which fell for the first time in 10 months going into April. (Reporting by Wanfeng Zhou Editing by Leslie Adler)

HONG KONG, March 29 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks on Tuesday ended flat in low volume, with gains in energy counters offset by losses in the financial sector in choppy quarter end trading.

  The benchmark Hang Seng Index reversed midday gains, ending down 0.03 percent at 23,060.36, with trading volume three-quarters of its 30-day average. The China Enterprises Index of top locally listed mainland companies finished down 0.2 percent.

  The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.87 percent at 2,958.08, weighed down by investors selling off small cap shares while the index failed to breach a key psychological resistance level.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  * Property and financial stocks lost ground, with Bank of China Ltd , HSBC Holdings Plc and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd all lower.

  * But financial counters generally traded more positively in Shanghai, with an analyst saying that compared with H-shares, A-shares of dual-listed Chinese banks were cheaper and more likely to rally.

  * Gains in CNOOC Ltd , China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd and PetroChina Co Ltd lent support. Energy and commodities counters were seen as safer bets in directionless markets, said an analyst. An anticipated increase in Japanese demand for more traditional energy was expected to favor traditional and non-traditional energy counters.

  * Trading in shares of First Pacific Co Ltd was suspended on Tuesday, the Hong Kong exchange said without giving details. First Pacific was up 1.42 percent at HK$6.44 prior to the suspension. [ID:nL3E7ET0LN]

  * Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd gained 5.3 percent on the day, after climbing as much as 9.0 percent after reporting a return to profit for 2010.

 

  DAY AHEAD:

  * Bank of Communications Co Ltd , China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd are expected to announce their 2010 earnings on Wednesday.

  * Japan's nuclear crisis remains unresolved and is seen by analysts as a bigger market mover than the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East and North Africa.

  (Reporting by Clement Tan Editing by Chris Lewis)

 

  ASIA-PACIFIC MARKETS Pan-Asia..... Japan........ S.Korea.... S.E. Asia........... Hong Kong... Taiwan..... Australia/NZ........ India....... China...... OTHER MARKETS: Wall Street.......... Gold......... Currency.. Eurostocks.......... Oil........... JP bonds... ADR Report......... LME metals.. US bonds... Stocks News US.. Stocks News Europe...

  DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Taiwan diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead World forecasts TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news, double click on: U.S. company news European company news Forex news Global Economy news Technology news Telecoms news Media news Banking news Politics/General news Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com LIVE PRICES & DATA: World Stocks < 0#.INDEX> Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ Nikkei FTSE 100 Debt < 0#USBMK=> Hong Kong Dollar LME price overview

* China banking watchdog says to step up control on property loans

  * Says to restrict new loans to local government financing vehicles

  * Says to closely monitor liquidity status of banks this year (Adds quotes and details)

  BEIJING, March 29 (Reuters) - Risks that could lead to a property bubble are still building up in China, and more action is needed to cool speculative fervour, the country's banking regulator said on Tuesday.

  In a report about last year's banking performance, the China Banking Regulatory Commission also asked lenders to strictly implement rules limiting mortgages to help rein in real estate prices.

  " There are still some irrational factors in the property market," the CBRC said.

  " The performance of the property market has a long-term and important impact on the sound and stable development of banking industry," it added.

  It noted rising pressure on the balance sheets of some smaller banks and vowed to keep a close eye on the banks' liquidity conditions to prevent risks.

  " We will implement the system of monitoring the daily average loan-to-deposit ratio on a monthly basis this year," it said.

  The CBRC has drawn up a tough new set of capital rules as part of efforts to implement Basel III guidelines, according to a document obtained by Reuters in February.

  But the regulator did not mention the new capital rules in its annual report.

  It reiterated that it would strictly control lending to financing vehicles used by local governments to circumvent restrictions on their incurring debt, which economists warn could fuel a rise in bad loans in coming years.

  " The clean up of local financing vehicles debts has shown initial results, but we should not relax our efforts to control later risks," the commission said in the report.

  The CBRC also sounded a worried note about global economic prospects in 2011, citing uncertainties posed by the European debt crisis and ultra-loose monetary policies in developed countries.

  " The quantitative easing policies adopted by the U.S., European countries and Japan have added more pressure to emerging market inflation and asset prices, creating uncertainties for the world economy," it added.

  Given this context, Chinese banks have to make full preparations for future difficulties, the CBRC said.

  " The Chinese banking industry still faces some challenges in 2011, given the changing and complicated situations at home and abroad," the report said. (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing and Aileen Wang Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

(Adds details and background)

  WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will outline a plan for " America's energy security" in a speech on Wednesday, the White House said on Tuesday.

  Obama will kick off what the White House described as a " sustained focus on energy security" amid continuing unrest in the Middle East that has driven up global oil prices and while a nuclear crisis continues unfolding in Japan.

  He faces pressure to curb rising U.S. gasoline prices and prevent them from disrupting a fragile economic recovery as he begins to plot his 2012 re-election campaign.

  Obama will deliver his speech at Georgetown University in Washington on Wednesday and make further remarks on Friday in a visit to a United Parcel Service Inc shipping facility in Landover, Maryland, where he will inspect vehicles from " clean fleets" operated by AT& T, FedEx, PepsiCo, UPS and Verizon, the White House said. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland Editing by Eric Beech)

By David Morgan

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said on Tuesday that the Obama administration has not ruled out arming Libya's rebels as an option for trying to end Muammar Gaddafi's 41-year rule.

  Speaking a day after President Barack Obama defended his Libya strategy in a televised address, Rice said Gaddafi has shown no sign of leaving power without continued pressure from Western powers that have imposed a no-fly zone over Libya and used air strikes to constrain his ground forces.

  " Over the long term, as the president said, there are other things that are at our disposal that perhaps will assist in speeding Gaddafi's exit," she told CBS's " The Early Show" as part of a series of TV interviews.

  " It may not happen overnight," she added.

  She spoke as more than 40 countries and international organizations gathered in London to chart a post-Gaddafi future for Libya. Britain and Italy suggested he could be allowed to go into exile.

  Rice said the United States would maintain financial and diplomatic pressure on the Libyan government until Gaddafi leaves and hinted that new steps could be in the offing, including the arming of Libyan rebels.

  " We have not made that decision, but we've not certainly ruled that out," she said on ABC's " Good Morning America" program.

  The U.N. Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Libya on February 26 but exemptions are possible provided there is approval by the Libya sanctions committee, which consists of all 15 nations on the council.

  Five of the council members -- Russia, China, Germany, India and Brazil -- abstained from the March 17 vote that approved the no-fly zone resolution.

  Referring to reports that members of Gaddafi's inner circle have begun to reach out to the West, Rice said: " We will be more persuaded by actions rather than prospects or feelers."

  " The message for Gaddafi and those closest to him is that history is not on their side. Time is not on their side. The pressure is mounting," she told ABC.

  Meanwhile, Republican Senator John McCain criticized Obama's decision to limit the current military operation to protecting civilians and aiding humanitarian efforts, given the U.S. policy goal of ousting Gaddafi.

  " If Gaddafi remains in power, you will see a stalemate ... the same kind of thing we saw with Saddam Hussein when we established a no-fly zone, sanctions, etc., and it lasted for 10 years. We've seen that movie before," he said.

  McCain is among a handful of Obama critics who have called for arming the Libyan rebels.

  The United States is scaling back its military involvement to a supporting role after more than a week of air strikes, allowing NATO to take full command of the international force.

By Maria Golovnina and Michael Georgy

  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's better armed and organised troops reversed the westward charge of Libyan rebels as world powers met in London on Tuesday to plot the country's future without the " brother leader."

  Ahead of the conference, President Barack Obama told Americans in a televised address that U.S. forces would not get bogged down trying to topple Gaddafi, but he stopped short of spelling out how the military campaign in Libya would end.

  The United States is scaling back to a " supporting role" to let NATO take full command from U.S. forces on Wednesday, but air strikes by U.S., French and British planes remain key to smashing Gaddafi's armour and facilitating rebel advances.

  It took five days of allied air strikes to pulverise Libyan government tanks around the town of Ajdabiyah before Gaddafi's troops fled and the rebels rushed in and began their 300-km (200-mile), two-day dash across the desert to within 80 km (50 miles) of the Gaddafi loyalist stronghold of Sirte.

  But the rebel pick-up truck cavalcade was first ambushed, then outflanked by Gaddafi's troops. The advance stopped and government forces retook the small town of Nawfaliyah, 120 km (75 miles) east of Sirte.

  " The Gaddafi guys hit us with Grads (rockets) and they came round our flanks," Ashraf Mohammed, a 28-year-old rebel wearing a bandolier of bullets, told a Reuters reporter at the front.

  REBELS ON THE RUN

  The sporadic thud of heavy weapons could be heard as dozens of civilian cars sped eastwards away from the fight.

  One man stopped his car to berate the rebels.

  " Get yourselves up there and stop posing for pictures," he shouted, but met little response.

  Later, a hail of machinegun and rocket fire hit rebel positions. As the onslaught began, rebels lept behind sand dunes to fire back but gave up after a few minutes, jumped into their pick-up trucks and sped off back down the road to the town of Bin Jawad. Shells landed near the road as they retreated.

  Without air strikes it appears the rebels are not able to hold ground or make advances. The battle around Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace, will show if the rebels have reached their limit.

  Reports that some Nawfaliyah residents had fought alongside government troops are an ominous sign for world powers hoping for a swift end to Gaddafi's 41-year rule.

  Obama said he had no choice but to act to avoid " violence on a horrific scale" against the Libyan people.

  Gaddafi accused Western powers of massacres of Libyan civilians in alliance with rebels he said were al Qaeda members.

  " Stop your brutal and unjust attack on our country ... Hundreds of Libyans are being killed because of this bombardment. Massacres are being mercilessly committed against the Libyan people," he said in a letter to world leaders carried by Libya's official news agency.

  " We are a people united behind the leadership of the revolution, facing the terrorism of al Qaeda on the one hand and on the other hand terrorism by NATO, which now directly supports al Qaeda," he said.

  The rebels deny any al Qaeda links and on Tuesday promised free and fair elections if Gaddafi is forced from power.

  More than 40 governments and international organisations met in London on Tuesday to set up a steering group, including Arab states, to provide political guidance for the response to the war and coordinate long-term support to Libya.

  Both Britain and Italy suggested Gaddafi might be allowed to go into exile to bring a quick end to the six-week civil war, but the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said there was no evidence the Libyan leader was prepared to leave.

  NO REGIME CHANGE MISSION

  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met the opposition Libyan National Council envoy Mahmoud Jebril before the London talks. A senior U.S. official said the two could discuss releasing $33 billion (20 billion pounds) in frozen Libyan assets to the opposition.

  Such meetings also help Washington better understand the rebel leadership, its military forces and the problems they face, the official said, though Obama pledged once again that U.S. ground forces would not be deployed to help them out.

  " We will deny the regime arms, cut off its supply of cash, assist the opposition and work with other nations to hasten the day when Gaddafi leaves power," Obama said, but the United States would not use force to topple him, as it had in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

  " To be blunt, we went down that road in Iraq," Obama said.

  The United States though has not ruled out arming the rebels, ambassador Rice said.

  " Over the long term, as the president said, there are other things that are at our disposal that perhaps will assist in speeding Gaddafi's exit," she told CBS television.

  In western Libya, rebels and forces loyal to Gaddafi both claimed control over parts of Misrata and fighting appeared to persist in the fiercely contested city, Libya's third largest.

  Gaddafi's forces launched another attempt to seize control of Misrata on Tuesday, said a rebel spokesman in the city which has been under siege for more than a month.

  Government troops " tried an hour ago to get into the town through the eastern gate. The youths are trying to push them back. Fighting is still taking place now. Random bombardment is continuing," the spokesman, called Sami, told Reuters by telephone from the city. " Eight civilians were killed and several others wounded last night."

  Another rebel spokesman, in Benghazi, said 124 civilians had been killed in the past nine days of fighting in Misrata, based on numbers obtained from hospitals in the city.

  (Additional reporting by Angus MacSwan, Alexander Dziadosz, Edmund Blair, Maria Golovnina, Michael Georgy, Ibon Villelabeitia, Lamine Chikhi, Hamid Ould Ahmed, Marie-Louise Gumuchian, Andrew Quinn and David Brunnstrom Writing by Jon Hemming Editing by Giles Elgood)

(Adds details, quote, market reaction)

  WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly rose in February, a trade group said on Monday, pointing to a modest pickup in future home sales.

  The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in February, increased 2.1 percent to 90.8.

  Economists had expected the index, which leads existing home sales by a month or two, to fall 1.0 percent after a previously reported 2.8 percent decline.

  " We may not see notable gains in existing-home sales in the near term, but they're expected to rise 5 to 10 percent this year with the economic recovery, job creation and excellent affordability conditions providing confidence to buyers who have been on the sidelines," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

  Compared to February last year, the index was down 8.2 percent.

  The data was a positive sign for a market that has been unable to recover even as the broader economy has shown improvement. It comes after dismal data last week that showed sales of both new and previously owned homes slumped in February.

  " The fact that pending home sales rose bodes well for existing-home sales in the months ahead," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial in Westport, Connecticut.

  " Overall, the data continues to indicate it's probably going to be a while before the housing market gets back on its feet."

  Markets were little changed by the data, with U.S. stocks holding onto gains.

  (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani in Washington and Leah Schnurr and Caroline Valetkevitch in New York)

RABAT (Reuters) - Libya's Foreign Ministry declared a cease-fire in Misrata on Monday, the Libyan news agency said, referring to the western town where rebels earlier said government forces gained control of part of the city.

  " The Foreign Ministry ... announces that anti-terrorism units have stopped firing at the armed terrorist groups that have been terrorising," the Jana agency quoted the ministry as saying.

  " The city of Misrata now enjoys security and tranquillity and public services have started to recover their ability to provide customary services to all citizens."

  " The Foreign Ministry thus emphasises Libya's commitment to the cease-fire: it stands."

  (Reporting by Souhail Karam, writing by Adam Tanner).

* FTSE 100 up 0.1 percent

  * Banks firm, helped by upbeat BarCap, JPMorgan comment

  * Burberry gains on Saudi Alhokair joint venture

  * Analysts positive on longer-term outlook for equities

  By Tricia Wright

  LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Banking stocks boosted by upbeat broker comment lifted Britain's top share index into positive territory on Monday.

  By 1118 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 4.30 points, or 0.1 percent, higher at 5,905.06, on track for a four-session winning streak. It closed up 0.3 percent on Friday.

  The index is almost flat on the year, with some of the gains seen in February erased by worries over the euro zone debt crisis, political turmoil in the Arab world and the aftermath of the earthquake in Japan.

  Peter Dixon, an economist at Commerzbank, said that while markets have not lost sight of these events, they are starting to re-focus their attention, with " reasonably healthy" earnings numbers and favourable valuations underpinning his positive long-term view on equities.

  " I think there's a general sense that markets are beginning to take the events of Japan in their stride and we will start to see a bit more of a focus on market fundamentals," he said.

  " Given that we had a fairly positive view in the first place, (these fundamentals) suggest that hopefully we will start to make up a lot of the ground that we have lost in the course of the last week or two."

  The UK blue chip index carries a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 9.8 times, slightly cheaper than the broader STOXX Europe 600's 10.2 times, Thomson Reuters Datastream showed, though FTSE 100 companies are expected to post an average 19.9-percent rise in earnings this year, compared with a 14.7 percent gain for STOXX Europe 600 companies.

 

  BANKS SUPPORT

  Banks added the most points to the FTSE 100 on bullish comment from Barclays Capital and JPMorgan.

  Barclays Capital said it has looked at 11 of Europe's largest banks and all are trading at a discount to sum-of-their-parts valuations, calculating that around 150 billion euros are missing from their market caps, although it adds the banks usually trade at a discount.

  JPMorgan reiterated its " overweight" stance on banks, " a sector which will benefit from lower cost of capital, was the worst performer in the last 6-12 months but is attractively priced and will be supported by a recovery in credit demand."

  Among individual stocks, Burberry was among the top blue-chip performers, 1.9 percent ahead, after Saudi-based retailer Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Co said it had agreed to set up a joint venture with the British luxury goods group to market and sell its products.

  Traders were cautiously optimistic about the FTSE 100 in the short term, which may be building momentum after an advance of 3.2 percent over the course of last week, its best weekly performance since early November.

  " Not suprisingly after last week's rally traders are not rushing to buy today as they take stock of the current levels," Mic Mills, head of electronic trading at ETX Capital, said.

  " (While these gains have) made them more confident... they want to see these levels maintained for a while before we go charging on to higher levels," he added.

  (Additional reporting by Dominic Lau and David Brett Editing by David Cowell)

By Angus MacSwan

  BIN JAWAD, Libya (Reuters) - Rebels advanced towards the birthplace of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Monday, streaming west along the main coastal road in pick-up trucks mounted with machineguns.

  Russia criticised the Western-led air strikes that have turned the tide of Libya's conflict, saying these amounted to taking sides in a civil war and breached the terms of a United Nations Security Council resolution.

  Qatar became the first Arab country to recognise the rebels -- now in the sixth week of their uprising against Gaddafi's 41-year rule -- as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

  Al Jazeera said the rebels had seized the town of Nawfaliyah from forces loyal to Gaddafi, extending their advance westwards towards his hometown of Sirte, about 120 km away.

  Emboldened by the Western-led air strikes against Gaddafi's forces, the rebels have quickly reversed earlier losses and regained control of all the main oil terminals in the east of the OPEC member country.

  " We want to go to Sirte today. I don't know if it will happen," said 25-year-old rebel fighter Marjai Agouri as he waited with 100 others outside Bin Jawad with three multiple rocket launchers, six anti-aircraft guns and around a dozen pick-up trucks with machineguns mounted on them.

  A Reuters correspondent who was about 15 km west of Bin Jawad on the road to Nawfaliyah heard a sustained bombardment on the road ahead.

  " This is the frontline. The army has stopped over there, we are stopping here," Mohammed al-Turki, 21, a fighter at a rebel checkpoint, told Reuters, pointing to the road ahead where the sounds of blasts were coming from.

  Western-led air strikes began on March 19, two days after the U.N. Security Council authorised " all necessary measures" to protect civilians from Gaddafi's forces. But since the outset, the mission has faced questions from critics about its scope and aims, including the extent to which it will actively back the rebel side and whether it might target Gaddafi himself.

  Russia, which abstained in the U.N. vote, said Western attacks on Gaddafi's forces amounted to taking sides with the rebels.

  " We consider that intervention by the coalition in what is essentially an internal civil war is not sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council resolution," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference.

  Russian oil company Tatneft is expected to book $100 million of losses on capital expenditure in Libya as a result of the conflict, a company source told Reuters.

  NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the BBC: " We are there to protect civilians -- no more, no less."

  Contradicting a rebel claim to have captured Sirte, Reuters correspondent Michael Georgy reported from the city that the situation was normal. He had seen some police and military, but no signs of any fighting.

  Soldiers were manning checkpoints and green Libyan flags flapped in the wind. Militiamen fired AK-47 rifles defiantly into the air. " If they come to Sirte, we will defend our city," said Osama bin Nafaa, 32, a policeman.

  As Gaddafi's hometown and an important military base, Sirte -- about half-way along the coast from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi to Tripoli -- has great symbolic and strategic value. If it fell, the rebels would gain a psychological boost and the road towards the capital would lie open.

  As the rebels pressed forward in the east, they reported attacks by Gaddafi's forces in the west. One rebel spokesman told Al Jazeera that loyalist forces bombarded the rebel-held city of Misrata again on Monday, and snipers were on rooftops. Another told Al Arabiya television that eight people had been killed and more than 24 injured in clashes.

  A rebel spokesman in another western town, Zintan, said forces loyal to Gaddafi bombarded the town with rockets early on Monday, Al Jazeera reported.

  Libya's state news agency Jana said Western forces bombed the southern city of Sabha at dawn on Monday, leading to several casualties.

  TRIPOLI BLASTS

  At least six blasts resonated in Tripoli on Sunday night, followed by long bursts of anti-aircraft fire by Libyan forces. Libyan television said there had been air strikes on the " civilian and military areas" in the capital.

  Libyan state TV broadcast what it said was live footage of Gaddafi in a car in his Tripoli compound where hundreds of supporters waved green flags and chanted slogans. Gaddafi could not be seen in the white car but the TV said he was in it.

  On Sunday, NATO agreed to take full command of military operations in Libya after a week of heated negotiations, officials said. The United States, which led the initial phase, had sought to scale back its role in another Muslim country after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Western air strikes had " eliminated" Gaddafi's ability to move his heavy weapons.

  Gates also raised the possibility that Gaddafi's government could splinter and said an international conference in London on Tuesday would discuss political strategies to help bring an end to Gaddafi's rule.

  Libya accused NATO of " terrorising" and killing its people as part of a global plot to humiliate and weaken the North African country.

  The government says Western-led air attacks have killed more than 100 civilians, a charge denied by the coalition which says it is protecting civilians from Gaddafi's forces and targeting only military sites to enforce the no-fly zone.

  " The terror people live in, the fear, the tension is everywhere. And these are civilians who are being terrorised every day," said Mussa Ibrahim, a Libyan government spokesman.

  " We believe the unnecessary continuation of the air strikes is a plan to put the Libyan government in a weak negotiating position. NATO is prepared to kill people, destroy army training camps and army checkpoints and other locations."

  Britain's Guardian newspaper quoted Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as saying his country was ready to act as mediator and broker an early cease-fire.

  Erdogan said if the parties to the conflict requested Turkey to mediate, " we will take steps to do that" within the framework of NATO, the Arab League and the African Union.

  (Additional reporting by Alexander Dziadosz, Edmund Blair, Maria Golovnina, Michael Georgy, Ibon Villelabeitia, Tom Pfeiffer, Lamine Chikhi, Mariam Karouny, Joseph Nasr, Marie-Louise Gumuchian, David Brunnstrom and Arshad Mohammed Writing by Mark Trevelyan Editing by Giles Elgood)

HONG KONG, March 28 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares ended lower on Monday as financial stocks fell broadly after an unfavorable China Construction Bank Corp (CCB) earnings report spooked investors ahead of a slew of other earnings announcements this week.

  The benchmark Hang Seng Index finished down 0.39 percent at 23,068.19. The China Enterprises Index of top locally listed mainland companies retreated 0.62 percent.

  The Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.21 percent higher at 2,984.01, just shy of the psychologically important 3,000-point level.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  * CCB, China's largest mortgage lender, led a broad decline in financial counters, dropping 2.3 percent to a four-month low on Monday after reporting 2010 earnings that missed expectations and recording a 4 billion yuan ($610 million) impairment charge. Analysts said there was uncertainty about whether this was an issue with asset quality or provisions for tighter rules. [ID:nL3E7ES0FR]

  * Negative sentiment weighed on other major financial stocks, reversing last week's bullishness. Dual-listed Chinese banks saw a divergence in trading direction today. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd , expected to report 2010 earnings on Wednesday, slipped 0.5 percent in Hong Kong but was up 0.9 percent in Shanghai.

  * Some analysts speculated that the expiration of index futures this week would contribute to selling pressure in Hong Kong as investors take profit ahead of the end of the month. They predicted resistance on the upside at the 23,000 level in thin trading volume.

  * Li & Fung Holdings Ltd registered a second straight day of losses, losing 3.8 percent. It plunged 9.1 percent on Friday after posting an underpar profit for 2010 and failing to meet its three-year profit target. [ID:nL3E7EP09H]

  * Coal counters outperformed. Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd was up 1.6 percent after reporting a 125 percent jump in net profit. [ID:nL3E7EP082] Its peers, China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd , China's largest coal producer and China Coal Energy Co Ltd were up 0.4 percent and 0.8 percent respectively.

  DAY AHEAD:

  * Earnings expected on Tuesday include Agricultural Bank of China Ltd , Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd , Hutchison Whampoa Ltd and Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Ltd . (Editing by Chris Lewis)

  ASIA-PACIFIC MARKETS Pan-Asia..... Japan........ S.Korea.... S.E. Asia........... Hong Kong... Taiwan..... Australia/NZ........ India....... China...... OTHER MARKETS: Wall Street.......... Gold......... Currency.. Eurostocks.......... Oil........... JP bonds... ADR Report......... LME metals.. US bonds... Stocks News US.. Stocks News Europe...

  DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Taiwan diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead World forecasts TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news, double click on: U.S. company news European company news Forex news Global Economy news Technology news Telecoms news Media news Banking news Politics/General news Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com

* Resource shares pull back, mixed fund flows

  * Trading subdued after rally last week

  * Investors cautious amid Japan, Mideast uncertainty

  By Viparat Jantraprap

  BANGKOK, March 28 (Reuters) - Major Southeast Asian stock markets drifted lower on Monday, wary of turmoil in the Middle East and Japan's nuclear crisis, while weak palm oil price outlooks prompted selling in palm plantation stocks.

  Investors were largely cautious about the potential impact of slow recovery in Japanese manufacturing on regional businesses, with Thai manufacturing output seen contracting in the short-term due to disruption in imports of parts from Japan.

  Thai manufacturing output shrank 3.4 percent in February, partly reflecting concern over global uncertainty while Japan's quake would likely affect output in March and April.

  Stocks in Thailand edged down 0.5 percent, in line with most in the region, coming off last week's rally.

  " It looked like profit-taking across the region. The trend in a short term should be volatile as funds will target smaller returns and sell quickly amid global risks," said Bangkok-based Viwat Techapoonpol, strategist at broker Tisco Securities.

  The region's drop came in a subdued session, with turnover of most sharemarkets, including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, falling short of the 30-day average.

  Foreign fund flows were mixed, with Indonesia reporting nearly $23 million in inflows on the day, building on $193 million in inflows in the previous three sessions, Thomson Reuters data showed.

  Philippine stocks posted $4 million in outward foreign flows on the day, the data showed. Thai stocks saw $22 million in foreign buying after $205 million inflows of the past four sessions, the stock exchange said.

  Asian shares fell as turmoil in the Middle East and Japan's nuclear crisis left investors with little appetite for riskier assets. Japan's Nikkei finished down 0.6 percent.

  Shares elsewhere in Asia were mainly weaker, with MSCI's index of Asian shares outside Japan easing 0.33 percent, by 0957 GMT.

  Among losers, Singapore's City Developments, Southeast Asia's second-largest property firm, dropped 1.7 percent after last week's surge to two-month highs.

  Top oil refiner Thai Oil eased 0.6 percent, erasing part of a 4 percent jump on Friday due to profit margin hopes and Indonesia's PT Indo Tambangraya Megah, Indonesia's no.3 coal miner, shed 3.8 percent.

  In Singapore, Wilmar International, the world's largest listed palm oil firm, slid 0.6 percent, hurt by lower palm oil futures on expectations of higher output and lacklustre demand in March.

  Smaller rival Golden Agri Resources slid 0.7 percent and Malaysia's palm plantation firm Sime Darby declined 0.6 percent. (Additional reporting by Singapore bureau Editing by Martin Petty)