European shares ease; drugmakers, chemicals fall

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.1 pct, ends six-day winning run
                                
 * Oil majors gain; crude price hits $82 a barrel earlier
                                
 * Pharma shares slip; AstraZeneca, Roche under pressure
                                
 
                                
 By Harpreet Bhal 
                                
 LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - European shares slipped on
Monday, snapping six days of gains, with chemicals weaker and 
drugmakers down after AstraZeneca's <AZN.L> cancer drug failed
in trials, offsetting gains in oils and telecommunication firms.
                                
 The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
shares closed 0.1 percent lower at 1,053.44 points. The index
hit six-week highs on Friday after data showed a smaller than
expected drop in U.S. jobs last month. [ID:nN04252324]
                                
 But chemical companies were under pressure on Monday,
reversing hefty gains in the previous session, with Air Liquide
<AIRP.PA>, Bayer <BAYGn.DE>, Croda International <CRDA.L> and
K+S <SDFG.DE> down 0.9 to 1.7 percent.
                                
 Drugmakers were also lower. AstraZeneca shed 1.4 percent
after its cancer drug Recentin failed in a head-to-head late
stage trial with Roche's Avastin in colorectal cancer patients.
[ID:nLDE62708L]
                                
 GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> and Shire <SHP.L> fell 0.2 and 0.3
percent, respectively.
                                
 On the upside, oil majors were underpinned by stronger crude
prices <CLc1>, which hit an eight-week high above $82 a barrel
earlier as the dollar weakened and sentiment improved on the
economic outlook. BP <BP.L> and BG <BG.L> added 0.7 and 0.2
percent respectively.
                                
 Analysts said investors could draw some confidence from an
easing in worries over the problems in Greece and some signs of
an economic recovery in the United States.  
                                
 "We seem to have climbed a wall of worry and we've got a bit
of a return to risk appetite. We're not that bothered about the
problems in Greece anymore and ... non-farm payrolls (U.S. jobs
data) was seen as good," said David Morrison, market strategist
at GFT Global.
                                
 Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE> gained 0.1
percent, Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> was flat and France's CAC 40
<.FCHI> fell 0.2 percent.
                                
 
                                
 TELECOMS STRONG
                                
 Among other advancing sectors, defensive telecommunications
companies were higher, with France Telecom <FTE.PA>, KPN
<KPN.AS>, Telefonica <TEF.MC> and Tele2 <TEL2b.ST> up 0.3 to 1.6
percent.
                                
 Meanwhile, investor confidence goot a boost after France on
Sunday gave the clearest indication yet that firm plans to help
Greece were ready if needed and Portugal on Monday announced
 austerity measures to rein in its own ballooning budget
deficit. [ID:nLDE6260JZ] [ID:nLDE6270VJ] 
                                
 The European Commission also said it was prepared to propose
the creation of an IMF-style European Monetary Fund to cope with
future debt crises in the euro zone. 
                                
 On the macroeconomic front, a report showed that the U.S.
job market continued to improve in February for the sixth
consecutive month, largely due to a strong recovery in
manufacturing production, the Conference Board said.
 (Editing by Greg Mahlich)