Pharma failures depress Europe stocks, data eyed

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 ends down 0.4 percent
                                
 * Actelion leads pharma slide on trial news
                                
 * Unilever a top gainer after $3.7 bln Alberto Culver buy
                                
 By Simon Jessop and Harpreet Bhal
                                
 LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - European stocks ended a thinly
traded session in the red and just off lows on Monday, tracking
U.S. weakness ahead of fresh macro data, and led by biotech
Actelion <ATLN.VX> after a key drug failed a late-stage trial.
                                
 The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
shares closed down 0.4 percent at 1,073.55 points, partially
retracing Friday's gains, albeit in low volumes that amounted to
just 67 percent of the 90-day average.
                                
 "We've seen a bit of a pause for breath today and it seems
like the market is running out of a bit of steam," said Joshua
Raymond, markets strategist at City Index.
                                
 "There is a big focus on economic data this week and if we
do see one or two of these underperform then it could convince
people to take profit off the table and we could see markets
pull back."
                                
 Leading the charge to the downside was Swiss-based Actelion,
which fell 7.9 percent after its experimental haemorrhage drug
clazosentan failed a key Phase III study and now looks unlikely
to make it to market.
                                
 Across in Britain, AstraZeneca added to the sector woes and
ended down 1.6 percent after experimental prostate cancer pill
zibotentan also failed a late-stage clinical trial.
[ID:nLDE68Q06H]
                                
 Both stocks ended up lagging the European healthcare index
<.SXDP>, which fell 0.6 percent.
                                
 Looking ahead, UK GDP figures on Tuesday and U.S. GDP
numbers on Thursday are likely to provide the biggest macro push
this week, with consumer sentiment data from both sides of the
Atlantic and euro zone inflation data also due.
                                
 "Sentiment for stock markets still remains positive overall
- the FTSE 100 is still up by around 6 percent for September,"
said Anthony Grech, head of research at London-based IG Index.
                                
 While weak data from Tuesday's announcements could prompt a
further sell-off in London, investors had been "happy to buy
into any weakness for the past couple of months now, so it looks
like shares still have some gains yet to come," he added.
                                
 
                                
 UNILEVER
                                
 On the upside, consumer goods giant Unilever's <ULVR.L>
latest billion-dollar deal dominated corporate newsflow.
                                
 Food and beverage stocks <.SX3P> led the sectoral gainers
and ended up 0.9 percent on the back of Unilever's planned buy
of Alberto Culver <ACV.N> for $3.7 billion in cash.
[ID:nLDE68Q07C]
                                
 Other deal news to boost the sector included talk China's
Bright Food Group is mulling a $3.2 billion deal for Britain's
United Biscuits - in what would be the biggest foreign deal in
the sector by a Chinese company. [ID:nTOE68Q02A]
                                
 Pernod Ricard <PERP.PA> helped support the sector gains with
a 1.9 percent rise after French newsletter La Lettre de
L'Expansion said the French drinks group had had an excellent
summer, with sales up 7 percent against 2008.
                                
 Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index ended down 0.5
percent, Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> was 0.1 percent lower and
France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> closed down 0.4 percent.
  (Editing by David Cowell)