U.S. data, JPMorgan drag European shares lower

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 index falls 1.1 percent
                                
 * Banks fall after JPMorgan results
                                
 * Solar companies dip on German govt incentive cut
                                
 By Joanne Frearson
                                
 LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Friday
after U.S. consumer sentiment figures fell short of expectations
and JPMorgan <JPM.N> loan losses overshadowed higher
fourth-quarter profit, with banks in Europe weighing.
                                
 The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
shares closed down 1.1 percent at 1,052.24 points. The index
ended the week 1.2 percent lower, the first time it had ended
the week down in the past five.
                                
 The index is up 63 percent since reaching a lifetime low in
March last year and gained 26 percent in 2009.
                                
 "I would have liked to see a bit more on the Michigan
figures. Although the preliminary figures were better than the
previous reading it was shy of what was expected," said Stephen
Pope, chief global equity strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald.
                                
 The Michigan Surveys of Consumers was the highest since
September 2009, but it fell short of analysts' median
expectation of a reading of 73.9, according to a recent Reuters
poll. [ID:nN15147344]
                                
 Banks featured among the biggest fallers after JPMorgan said
losses on mortgages and commercial loans continued to rise.
However, quarterly profit soared to $3.3 billion, topping
expectations. [ID:nN15183524]
                                
 BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>, Credit
Suisse <CSGN.VX> and UBS <UBSN.VX> slipped 2.7 to 4.2 percent.
                                
 Energy stocks fell as crude <CLc1> prices retreated 1.3
percent. BG Group <BG.L>, Cairn Energy <CNE.L> and Total
<TOTF.PA> dipped 0.5 to 2.4 percent.
                                
 
                                
 SOLAR COMPANIES FALL
                                
 European solar firms fell after a Reuters report said the
German government planed to cut solar power incentives more
deeply and sooner than expected. [ID:nLDE60D273]
                                
 Norway's Renewable Energy Corporation <REC.OL>, Britain's PV
Crystalox Solar <PVCS.L> and China-based ReneSola <SOLA.L> lost
5.6 to 7.8 percent.
                                
 "If the report is true, the cut is worse than expectations
and the soft-caps create additional uncertainty around further
cuts in 2011," Jefferies analysts wrote in a note.
                                
 Vodafone <VOD.L> dipped 1.5 percent after UBS reduced its
EPS estimates by 2 percent for full-year 2011 and by 3 percent
for full-year 2012 to reflect cuts to its forecasts for the
British firm's U.S. mobiles business partner Verizon <VZ.N>.
                                
 On the upside, shares in Carrefour <CARR.PA> rose 3.6
percent after the world's second-largest retailer met
expectations for fourth-quarter sales and said it would hit
profit targets for the year just ended.
                                
 In other economic news, the U.S. consumer prices rose more
slowly than expected in December from November on modest gains
in food and energy costs, pointing to subdued inflation
pressures that should permit the Federal Reserve to keep
interest rates low for a while. [ID:nN14198653]
                                
 Manufacturing growth in New York State accelerated more
rapidly than expected in January on surging new orders and
shipments, and employment also improved, the New York Federal
Reserve said. [ID:nN15208010]
                                
 Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index fell 0.8 percent,
Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> was down 1.9 percent and France's CAC 40
<.FCHI> was 1.5 percent lower.
 (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Hans Peters)