European Shares Set to Ease, UBS Reports

European shares are expected to open lower on Tuesday, as banks fall into the spotlight once again after a larger-than-expected quarterly loss at UBS, while the slide in crude oil will likely dent the oil and gas sector.

Financial spreadbetters expect Britain's FTSE to open 17 to 18 points lower; Germany's DAX to open 9 to 11 points down and France's CAC-40 to open 16 to 18 points down.

UBS, which has been Europe's hardest-hit victim of the credit crunch so far, said its second-quarter net loss amounted to 358 million Swiss francs ($332.4 million), compared with forecasts for a loss of 273 million Swiss francs ($260 million) in a Reuters poll.

The company, which also posted a 24.5 billion Swiss franc outflow from global asset management, said it expected no improvement in the "adverse economic and financial market trends" that had affected its results in that period.

The energy sector may come under some pressures as oil continues to soften as the dollar hovers around six-month highs, which is offsetting concern about possible supply disruptions out of the Caspian region from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Georgia.