European shares fall for 3rd day on growth worries

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 index down 1.1 pct, falls for 3rd day
                                
 * Banks, miners fall on growth worries
                                
 * H&M drops as it needs to discount
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]
                                
 
                                
 By Brian Gorman
                                
 LONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - European shares fell on
Thursday, extending their decline to a third day, with banks and
miners slipping, on investor concerns about the growth outlook
after the U.S. Federal Reserve's downbeat economic assessment.
                                
 At 0858 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
European shares was down 1.1 percent at 1,028.27 points, after
falling 1 percent in the previous session.
                                
 The index is down more than 7 percent from a mid-April peak,
on worries about debt levels in Europe.
                                
 Miners were lower, reversing gains from the opening minutes
of trading. They had risen on hopes that Australia's new Prime
Minister, Julia Gillard, will compromise on proposals for a tax
on resource companies. 
                                
 But traders said the hopes of the proposals being diluted
had already been priced in, and were more than offset by the
subdued outlook for growth.
                                
 Anglo American <AAL.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Fresnillo
<FRES.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, Lonmin <LMI.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>,
and Xstrata <XTA.L> fell between 1.5 and 3 percent.
                                
 The U.S. Federal Reserve renewed its vow to hold benchmark
interest rates exceptionally low on Wednesday, but downgraded
its assessment of the economic recovery.
                                
 "The Fed referred to the problems in Europe, and how they
would affect the outlook for growth. If the market had been
worried about interest rate hikes, you would have called it a
dovish statement. But the market is more worried about growth,"
said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB
Stockbrokers in Dublin.
                                
 Oils to fall, as crude prices <CLc1> dropped, included Total
<TOTF.PA> and Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, down 0.8 and 1.5
percent respectively.
                                
 The heavyweight banking sector also fell, with some banks
hurt by Goldman Sachs cutting price targets.
                                
 BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, BBVA
<BBVA.MC>, Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA>, Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>
and UniCredit <CRDI.MI> fell between 0.8 and 3.6 percent.
                                
 Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE>, Germany's DAX
<.GDAXI> and France's CAC40 <.FCHI>fell between 0.8 and 1.1
percent.
                                
 The Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Countries Index
<.TRXFLDPIPU> fell 1.5 percent. 
                                
 
                                
 H&M FALLS
                                
 Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz <HMb.ST> fell 1.8
percent after meeting forecasts for second-quarter profit, but
flagged deeper discounts in the next quarter after a two-month
sales dip brought on by cold weather. [ID:nLDE65M0SR]
                                
 European policymakers dug in to defend budget austerity
plans on Thursday ahead of a G20 summit set to pit calls for
fiscal restraint against warnings that heavy cost-cutting
threatens recovery. [ID:nLDE65N0LG]
                                
 Investors will look at U.S. durable goods and weekly jobless
data, due at 1230 GMT, after recent housing data, as well as the
Fed's comments, cast doubt on the strength of the recovery in
the world's biggest economy.
 (Editing by Hans Peters)