European stocks down led by Daimler, oil companies

* Europe's top-300 index drops 0.7 pct

* Car maker Daimler plunges; bank Credit Suisse climbs

* Economic data point to weaker growth in Europe

By Peter Starck

FRANKFURT, July 24 (Reuters) - European stocks fell on Thursday as a disappointing outlook hurt shares in car maker Daimler (DAIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), offsetting financial sector gains fuelled by forecast-beating profits from Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Heavyweight energy stocks lost ground as the price of crude oil held below $125 a barrel CLc1, and the overall market mood turned more cautious in the wake of data pointing to a slowdown in economic growth in Europe.

At 1215 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.7 percent at 1,180.16 points, against the previous session's 2 percent gain.

The DJ Stoxx European auto index lost 4 percent, pulled down by Daimler, which tumbled as much as 11.5 percent.