European shares slip on China lending concerns

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 index down 0.2 pct
                                
 * Miners fall on China concerns
                                
 * Drugmakers gain after Republican wins Senate seat
                                
 By Joanne Frearson
                                
 LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - European shares fell on
Wednesday, led by miners on mounting concerns about China
reining in loose monetary policy, though drugmakers gained on
doubts over U.S. healthcare reform.
                                
 By 0942 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3>
index of top shares was down 0.2 percent at 1,066.89 points.
                                
 "Asia has been weak on the Chinese authorities curbing
lending growth. I think Europe is reacting to China again," said
Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers.
                                
 Chinese banking authorities have instructed some major banks
to curb their lending over the rest of this month after an early
burst of credit [ID:nTOE60J010]. 
                                
 China's key stock index <.SSEC> was down 2.9 percent.
                                
 Miners were under pressure as metal prices weakened. Copper
<MCU3=LX> fell 1 percent and platinum retreated from a 17-month
high.
                                
 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> slipped 1.6 to 2.4 percent.
                                
 Banks were under pressure ahead of earnings news from Bank
of America <BAC.N>, Morgan Stanley <MS.N> and Wells Fargo
<WFC.N>.
                                
 Barclays <BARC.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> and Societe
Generale <SOGN.PA> fell 0.6 to 1 percent.
                                
 
                                
 DRUGMAKERS GAIN AFTER REPUBLICAN WIN
                                
 Drugmakers gained after a Republican win in the U.S. Senate
race in Massachusetts robbed the Democrats of the crucial 60th
Senate vote needed to pass healthcare reform.
                                
 GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>, Sanofi Aventis <SASY.PA> and
AstraZeneca <AZN.L> advanced 0.8 to 1.5 percent.
                                
 "The odds of major U.S. healthcare reform, or something
that's not to the Republicans liking, is now looking less than
50 percent -- and that's going to help the pharmaceutical
companies," said Jefferies analyst Jeffrey Holford.
                                
 Dutch chip equipment maker ASML <ASML.AS> rose 3.7 percent
after fourth-quarter new orders beat expectations as the market
continued to improve. [ID:nLDE60H1Z2]
                                
 On Tuesday, IBM <IBM.N> raised its 2010 profit target and
reported a stronger-than-expected 9 percent increase in
fourth-quarter earnings, as cost cuts and a shift to more
profitable contracts helped it weather a slump in corporate
spending. [ID:nN19218960]
                                
 Later in the session, investors will eye housing starts and
building permits at 1330 GMT.
                                
 Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a 580,000 annualized
rate versus 574,000 in November. A total of 590,000 permits are
expected compared with 589,000 in November.
                                
 Across Europe, both the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index and Germany's
DAX <.GDAXI> were down 0.3 percent and France's CAC 40 <.FCHI>
was 0.2 percent lower.
 (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)