European shares hit 3-week closing low; banks fall

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares hit a three-week closing low on Wednesday as banks came under pressure after worse-than-expected earnings from Bank of America (BAC.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and commodity shares slipped.

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares provisionally ended 1.6 percent lower at 1,052.05 points, its lowest closing level since December 31 last year. The index hit its highest closing in 15 months in the previous session.

Banks were among the top decliners, with BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), Barclays (BARC.L), HSBC (HSBA.L) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) falling 1.9 to 3.7 percent.

"The Bank of America's results, more than anything else, and also the poor housing data are the things investors have been focusing on," said Angus Campbell, head of sales at Capital Spreads.

Bank of America posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, while Morgan Stanley's quarterly profit fell short of analysts' expectations.

Investor sentiment was also dented by data showing U.S. housing starts unexpectedly fell in December.

(Reporting by Harpreet Bhal)