* FTSEurofirst 300 <> index falls 0.2 percent
* GlaxoSmithKline rises as competitive drug threat recedes
* For latest stocks news, click on []
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - European shares slipped back
from the previous session's 17-month closing highs in early
trade on Thursday, with banks and commodity stocks taking the
most points off a key index.
At 0911 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 0.2 percent at 1,068.75 points, after
rising 0.9 percent in the previous session to its highest close
since early October 2008.
The European benchmark is up more than 65 percent from its
lifetime low of March 9, 2009.
Banks fell, having gained sharply in the previous session,
following the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledge to keep interest
rates near zero for an extended period.
Barclays <BARC.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Banco Santander
<SAN.MC>, HSBC <HSBA.L> and UBS <UBSN.VX> fell between 0.6 and
1.5 percent.
"It will be difficult for the market to push higher from
here," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB
Stockbrokers in Dublin.
"The market is pricing in that there is no prospect of
higher interest rates any time soon in the west, but that's
because of a danger of a relapse in the economy, and there are
doubts creeping in about the German support for the Greece
rescue plan."
Greece may seek financial aid from the International
Monetary Fund next month because it is growing increasingly
pessimistic about the prospect of help from the European Union,
Dow Jones Newswires reported on Thursday. []
Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Thursday Greece
will not be able to carry out planned deficit cuts to resolve
its debt problems if it has to continue borrowing money at high
interest rates. []
But he made no mention of turning to the European Union or
the International Monetary Fund for help, saying, however, that
Greece was implementing IMF style structural reforms without
having access to IMF funds. He said he hoped Greece would not
have to go to the international lender for help.
Commodity stocks also gave back some of the previous
sessions' gains, as the dollar strengthened, hurting oil and
metals prices.
Oil companies falling included Total <TOTF.PA>, ENI
<ENI.MI>, BP <BP.L> and Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, down between
0.3 and 1.3 percent.
Among the miners, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Eurasian Natural
Resources Corp. <ENRC.L>, Fresnillo <FRES.L> and Rio Tinto
<RIO.L> fell between 0.5 and 0.9 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC40 <> were down between 0.2 and
0.4 percent.
GLAXOSMITHKLINE RISES
GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> gained 2.3 percent after Novartis
<NOVN.VX> handed back U.S. rights to a drug widely thought to be
a generic copy of Glaxo's blockbuster Advair, reducing the
threat of cheap copies of the lung drug in the company's biggest
market. []
Shire <SHP.L>, AstraZeneca <AZN.L>, Merck <MRCG.DE> and Roche <ROG.VX> were up between 0.4 and 0.8 percent.
Novartis was little changed.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 <> closed 1 percent lower
on Thursday.
Investors will look at weekly U.S. jobless data, due at 1230
GMT, for clues on the strength of the recovery in the world's
biggest economy.
(Editing by Mike Nesbit)
