* FTSEurofirst 300 index closes down 0.1 pct
* Banks down; miners slip as metal prices dip
* EADS falls as posts loss, scraps dividend
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Tuesday
for the second consecutive session, with banking stocks down and
miners lower as metal prices retreated on a firmer dollar, while
defensive food producers and drugmakers gained.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
shares closed down 0.1 percent at 1,052.55 points. The index has
risen 63 percent since reaching a lifetime low in March 9 2009,
but is little changed this year.
"Markets are having a bit of a breather and hopefully it is
no more than a bit of light profit taking," said Mike Lenhoff,
strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
"Earnings are coming through quite nicely and I think there
is still a fair degree of confidence which is helpful for
companies. I would put this down to nothing more than a slight
technical adjustment."
Banks took the most points off the index. HSBC <HSBA.L>,
Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, Standard Chartered <STAN.L> and
Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> fell 0.7 to 2.8 percent.
Miners slipped as metal prices retreated. Anglo American
<AAL.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L> and Rio Tinto <RIO.L> lost 0.5 to
0.7 percent.
However, Chilean copper miner Antofagasta <ANTO.L> recovered
after earlier falls to gain 1.1 percent after it said earnings
per share excluding exceptional items fell to 67.7 cents a touch
below a consensus forecast. [ID:nLDE62721A]
EADS SLIPS
Airbus parent EADS <EAD.PA> lost 2.8 percent after it
reported a heavy loss in 2009, scrapped its dividend and said
production problems on its A380 superjumbo would hit its core
profit this year. [ID:nLDE62805F]
Food producers and drugmakers were in demand as investors
stuck to the safety of defensive stocks.
Nestle <NESN.VX> was up 1.2 percent, while drugmakers
GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> and Novartis <NOVN.VX> gained 1.6 to 0.8
percent respectively.
Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> rose 0.8 percent after the company
and Merck <MRK.N> agreed to combine the French drugmaker's
Merial unit and Merck's Intervet/Schering Plough to take the top
spot in the $19 billion market. [ID:nGEE5AO0OJ]
Merck <MRCG.DE> fell 0.2 percent.
British engineer Weir Group <WEIR.L> gained 7.9 percent
after it raised its outlook for the year on better than expected
trading in the first weeks of 2010, sending its shares to a
19-month high. [ID:nLDE6271CF]
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index slipped 0.1
percent, while Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> and France's CAC 40
<.FCHI> rose 0.2 percent.
(Editing by Greg Mahlich)