European shares close lower; banks, miners fall

* 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)