* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 0.3 percent
* Miners slip as metals prices fall
* Novartis gains after earnings and upbeat outlook
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) - European shares fell in early
trade on Thursday, after three days of gains ahead of key
earnings reports from major U.S. firms JP Morgan <JPM.N> and
Google <GOOG.O>.
At 0820 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 0.3 percent at 861.13 points, having
moved in and out of positive territory.
The index gained 6 percent in the first three days of the
week, as U.S. results boosted investor confidence, and is up
more than 33 percent from the lifetime low it hit on March 9.
"So far, we're getting indications of a better-than-expected
Q2 earnings season, though it's very early," said Bernard
McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers, in Dublin.
"We're in a range, and we have been going up to the upper
end of it. But the market needs to see that recovery is there,
and that earnings have bottomed."
A 33 percent surge in quarterly earnings at Goldman Sachs
<GS.N> sparked optimism this week that the banking sector was
recovering.
Banks were mostly lower on Thursday, with the DJ STOXX
European banking <.SX7P> index having gained 8.7 percent in the
previous three sessions.
Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>, HSBC
<HSBA.L> and UBS <UBSN.VX> were down between 0.9 and 2.2
percent.
Miners also fell on Thursday as the price of copper and
other metals slipped.
Anglo American <AAL.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>> and Xstrata
<XTA.L> fell between 0.7 and 3.2 percent.
Oils were slightly lower as crude prices <CLc1> slipped
below $61.50 a barrel. Total <TOTF.PA> and BP <BP.L> fell 0.7
and 0.4 percent respectively.
Defensives were generally lower, notably utilities. GDF Suez
<GSZ.PA> and Veolia <VIE.PA> were down 1 and 1.8 percent
respectively.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC-40 <> were down between 0.2 and
0.4 percent.
NOVARTIS RISES
Swiss drugmaker Novartis <NOVN.VX> rose 1.4 percent after it
raised its full-year forecast for drug sales and second-quarter
net profit met expectations. []
AstraZeneca <AZN.L> was up 0.8 percent.
Casino Guichard Perrachon <CASP.PA> rose 3.7 percent. After
the market closed on Wednesday, the French supermarket group
said it met forecasts with a 1.9 percent drop in second-quarter
sales and was comfortable with analysts' full-year profit
forecasts. []
Electrolux <ELUXb.ST> soared 8.6 percent after the world's
second biggest home appliances maker posted a surprise rise in
second-quarter core earnings, despite weak market demand.
Later in the session, investor focus will be on earnings at
JPMorgan and weekly U.S. jobless claims.
(Editing by Lin Noueihed)
