Miners lead European shares down; econ data bleak

* FTSEurofirst 300 index down 0.6 percent

* Basic resources, technology leading sectoral decliners

* Eyes on Bank of England, expected to cut rates

By Christoph Steitz

FRANKFURT, Jan 8 (Reuters) - European shares were down in early trade on Thursday, with heavyweight mining stocks taking most points off the index, after a record drop in German exports and weak U.S. jobless data rekindled economic worries.

At 0915 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was down 0.6 percent at 872.27 points, having ended a six-day winning streak on Wednesday by dropping 1.3 percent. The index lost 45 percent in 2008.

"Today is a typical day on which the bad macroeconomic sentiment drives down the whole market," said Joerg Rahn, senior economist at MM Warburg.

"U.S. jobless claims are likely to rise later today, which, after yesterday's weak figures, could negatively impact the market. A positive surprise would not boost the market today," he said. Weekly U.S. jobless data is due at 1330 GMT.

The bleak economic outlook hit shares in raw material producers such as steelmaker ArcelorMittal (MTP.PA) and mining groups Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and Anglo American (AAL.L), all of which fell around 3 percent.

The DJ Stoxx basic resources index .SXPP was the top sectoral loser, down just over 2 percent.

German exports posted a record fall in November as demand for cars and others mainstays of the manufacturing economy plummeted, deepening worries about the country's already bleak 2009 outlook. [ID:nL88871]

"Today's dramatic decline in exports supports those within the ECB council who prefer to cut rates already next Thursday by 50 basis points," said Commerzbank Chief Economist Joerg Kraemer, referring to the European Central Bank.

Shares in J. Sainsbury (SBRY.L), Britain's third-biggest supermarket group, were down 1.5 percent, after the company posted third-quarter underlying sales at the top end of forecasts but said economic conditions were set to remain "particularly challenging" in 2009. [ID:nL7558035]

Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index .FTSE, Germany's DAX .GDAXI and France's CAC 40 .FCHI were down between 0.2 and 0.8 percent.