European shares pare gains after US ADP jobs data

LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - European shares pared gains in early afternoon trade on Wednesday after U.S. private employers cut a bigger-than-expected 254,000 jobs in September.

By 1223 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.2 percent at 1,004.16 points, after trading at 1,007.03 points before the announcement.

Insurers were the among the top gainers in Europe, with Legal & General (LGEN.L) up 6.2 percent and Aviva (AV.L) up 4.7 percent.

Banks, on the other hand, were one of the main drags. Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) and HSBC (HSBA.L) fell 0.8-1.7 percent.

For more on the U.S. jobs report, click on [ID:nWEN4178] (Reporting by Dominic Lau)