LONDON (Reuters) - European shares steadied on Wednesday with retailers in focus after contrasting updates from Next (>> NEXT plc) and B&M European Value Retail (>> B&M European Value Retail SA).

The STOXX 600 <.STOXX> was little changed steadying after three straight sessions of gains.

UK retailer Next was the stand-out laggard, down 14 percent after warning on profits. The stock has lost nearly 40 percent over the past year.

The move dragged down other high street retailers with UK exposure. Marks & Spencer (>> Marks and Spencer Group Plc) dropped 5.3 percent, while Primark owner Associated British Foods (>> Associated British Foods plc) fell 4.9 percent.

The exception was B&M (>> B&M European Value Retail SA). The variety retailer was the top STOXX 600 riser, up 4.1 percent, after saying it had reported record Christmas trading.

In financials, Credit Suisse (>> Credit Suisse Group AG) shares were up 2.5 percent and in sight of hitting their highest levels in a year following an upgrade at Barclays.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout, Editing by Vikram Subhedar)