European shares fall as banks, commodities weigh

* FTSEurofirst 300 index down 0.4 pct

* Banks, commodities weigh

* Telcos up; TeliaSonera, BT Group rise

By Joanne Frearson

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - European shares fell in early trade on Thursday, led lower by banks and commodities stocks, as investors awaited euro zone industrial production numbers and U.S. weekly jobless figures.

By 0934 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was down 0.4 percent at 1,009.82 points after touching a three-week high in the previous session.

"I suspect investors will be looking at the industrial production figures today which will probably show a fairly split picture between core Europe and the rest. I think that is going to weigh on what is happening," said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management.

"U.S. jobless figures are going to be crucial to the level of confidence coming through. I suspect it is still going to show a little weakness but not quite as bad as expected."

Banks took the most points off the index. Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), HSBC (HSBA.L) and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) were down 0.5 to 2 percent.

Energy stocks featured among the declines as crude CLc1 slipped 0.5 percent. BG Group (BG.L), BP (BP.L) and Total (TOTF.PA) were down 0.5 to 0.9 percent.

Mining stocks retreated after early gains as copper MCU3=LX prices fell 1 percent. BHP Billiton (BLT.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and Xstrata (XTA.L) were down 0.8 to 2 percent.

Utilities were lower. France's GDF Suez (GSZ.PA) and Germany's RWE (RWEG.DE) were down 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent after they both reported earnings for the first nine months of the year that were slightly below market expectations. [ID:nLC363111]

AB INBEV FALLS

Shares in AB InBev (ABI.BR) dropped 2 percent after mixed third-quarter results, with lower revenue than expected but higher core profit and guidance described as "solid" by one analyst. [ID:nLA37810]