Europe shares fall on weak banks; J. Baer slips

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.1 pct; hits lowest since Sept. 14
                                
 * Financial stocks under pressure, Julius Baer slips 4.8 pct
                                
 * Energy stocks advance as crude oil prices rebound
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]

                                
 By Atul Prakash
                                
 LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - European shares hit their lowest
level in nearly two weeks on Friday as financial stocks slipped,
led lower by Julius Baer <BAER.VX>, which fell after detailing
its strategic outlook, but positive energy stocks limited
losses.
                                
 The market ignored a pledge by the Group of 20 rich and
developing countries to keep emergency economic supports in
place until recovery is secured. [ID:nN25480100]
                                
 At 0854 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
European shares was down 0.1 percent at 986.66 points, after
falling to as low as 982.12, the lowest level since Sept. 14.
The index is still up 19 percent this year and has surged 53
percent since a record low in March.
                                
 Financial stocks were among the top losers, with sentiment
down after major world central banks announced on Thursday that
they planned to scale-back massive injections of dollars into
their banking systems as financial markets stabilise after a
devastating crisis.
                                
 Standard Chartered <STAN.L>, Barclays <BARC.L>, Lloyds
<LLOY.L>, Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, UBS <UBSN.VX>, Credit
Suisse <CSGN.VX>, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> and Commerzbank
<CBKG.DE> fell 0.9-3.8 percent.
                                
 Julius Baer fell 4.8 percent after it said it was ready to
consider acquisitions in Switzerland and abroad, as it set new
targets for its private banking and asset management arms.
[ID:nLP375932]
                                
 DnB NOR <DNBNOR.OL>, however, rose 7.7 percent after
Norway's biggest banking group announced a $2.4 billion rights
issue to strengthen its capital. [ID:nLP390655]
                                
 The market was in an overbought condition and needed to
pause before hitting new highs later in the year, said Romain
Boscher, chief investment officer at Groupama Asset Management.
                                
 "Medium-term outlook is still very positive, but in the very
short term, we should be more cautious," he said.
                                
 
                                
 ENGINEERING SHARES FALL 
                                
 Shares in industrial engineering companies also fell on
demand concerns. Sulzer <SUN.S>, Alstom <ALSO.PA>, ABB <ABBN.VX>
and Volvo <VOLVb.ST> fell 1.5-3.1 percent.
                                
 Energy shares followed crude oil <CLc1>, which rebounded
after a drop of more than 4 percent to its lowest in eight weeks
as weak U.S. home sales stoked doubts about the pace of a fuel
demand recovery in the world's top energy consumer.
                                
 BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, BG Group <BG.L>,
Tullow Oil <TLW.L> and StatoilHydro <STL.OL> added 0.5-2.2
percent.
                                
 ING <ING.AS> rose 1.5 percent after it said it will sell its
51 percent stake in a wealth management joint venture to partner
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group <ANZ.AX> for 1.1 billion
euros ($1.6 billion). [ID:nLP355694]
                                
 Consumer goods giant Unilever <ULVR.L> was up 0.2 percent.
It agreed to pay 1.275 billion euros ($1.87 billion) for the
personal care business of Sara Lee <SLE.N> bringing it brands
such as Sanex and Radox. [ID:nLP419835]
                                
 Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> was up 0.4
percent, while Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> fell 0.2 percent and
France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> was down 0.1 percent.
 (Editing by Rupert Winchester)