Europe shares slip for 5th session; China worries

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 index down 0.6
                                
 * Banks, commods slip on China worries
                                
 * Siemens shines after Q1 profits grows
                                
 By Joanne Frearson
                                
 LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - European shares fell in early
trade on Tuesday, extending their decline for a fifth day after
China implemented a previously announced clampdown on lending,
with banks and commodities the major fallers in Europe.
                                
 By 0930 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3>
index was down 0.6 percent at 1,012.64 points. In the past
five-days, the index has lost about 5.2 percent, its biggest
five-day slump since early July.
                                
 Sentiment was knocked after banking sources said China had
implemented its latest rise in bank reserve ratios to curb
excessive lending. [ID:nSGE60P039]
                                
 "Since China has started its banking proposals ... this has
generally been seen as a concern," said Justin Urquhart Stewart,
director at Seven Investment Management.
                                
 "How do you let the air out of balloon easily, the answer is
with difficulty ... there is a level of Chinese uncertainty which
hangs as a cloud over us."
                                
 Banks took the most points off the pan-European index. The
DJ STOXX banking sector index <.SX7P> index has lost 4.8 percent
this year after gaining nearly 48 percent in 2009.
                                
 Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, UBS <UBSN.VX>,
UniCredit <CRDI.MI> and BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> fell 1 to 1.9
percent.
                                
 However, Spain's third-largest listed bank Popular <POP.MC>
rose 4.2 percent after it posted a 27.2 percent fall in 2009 net
profit, beating forecasts, and said it was "reasonably
optimistic" about this year. [ID:nLDE60O2F7]
                                
 Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index lost 0.6 percent,
Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> fell 0.5 percent and France's CAC 40
<.FCHI> slipped 0.6 percent.
                                
 In economic news, the German business sentiment rose more
than expected in January, hitting its highest level since July
2008, while Britain came out of recession in the fourth quarter
of 2009. [ID:nBEB004426] [ID:nONS004756]
                                
 
                                
 COMMODITIES UNDER PRESSURE
                                
 Energy stocks retreated as crude <CLc1> fell 1.2 percent on
concerns over weaker global demand. Tullow Oil <TLW.L>, BP
<BP.L> and Total <TOTF.PA> slipped 0.4 to 1.4 percent.
                                
 Miners were under pressure as metal prices weakened, with
copper <MCU3=LX> down 1.4 percent.
                                
 Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, BHP Billiton
<BLT.L>, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation <ENRC.L>, Rio
Tinto <RIO.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L> lost 0.9 to 1.7 percent.
                                
 On the upside, German engineering conglomerate Siemens
<SIEGn.DE> gained 3.2 percent after it posted first-quarter
operating earnings that far exceeded expectations.
                                
 German chipmaker Infineon <IFXGn.DE> rose 1.3 percent, with
traders citing speculation that the company is to supply chips
for Apple's <AAPL.O> iTablet.
 (Editing by Hans Peters)