* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 1.8 pct; lowest close since Aug. 20
* Banks among top losers; commods track weaker crude, metals
* Eiffage falls more than 9 percent; Vivendi up 1 percent
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - European shares posted their biggest one-day percentage fall in two weeks on Tuesday, led by banks and commodity stocks, but analysts said the market was likely to resume its climb after a period of consolidation.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 1.8 percent down at 954.15 points, the lowest closing level since Aug. 20. The index is up 15 percent this year and has jumped 48 percent from a record low in March.
Financial stocks took the most points off the index, with HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and UBS falling 3.7-5.8 percent.
But Commerzbank, rose 3.6 percent after its chief executive Martin Blessing said in a newspaper interview that Germany's second-biggest bank could return to profit as soon as next year.
Analysts said the market slipped on profit-taking after paring losses in the afternoon session on data showing the U.S. manufacturing sector grew in August for the first time in over a year and a half, while pending home sales surged to a two-year high in July.
"It's surprising that the market didn't go higher despite the good news. That's an indication that there is some kind of fatigue starting to creep into investors' minds," said Franz Wenzel, strategist at AXA Investment Managers, in Paris.
"The market is somewhat overbought. We wouldn't be surprised to see the market consolidating in the near term, but that should give some breath for the reminder of the year to climb higher," he added.
Figures also showed that euro zone manufacturing activity shrank less than previously thought in August, but there were stark differences amongst the bloc's countries with contraction accelerating in Spain and Italy.
Investors remained worried about the strength of an economic recovery after a surprise drop in British manufacturing activity last month and a sharp fall in consumer lending in July.
"Today's numbers have shown that there could still be a few bumps left along the way for the UK economy, but as far as stock markets are concerned, the mood for shares is still positive," said David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index.
"We have seen a couple of days of weakness around the world, but for now there still seem to be enough buyers happy to step in and provide support. It looks premature to start worrying about a bigger correction."
DEFENSIVES MAY GAIN
Analysts said that cyclical stocks such as financials might suffer going forward, but defensive shares might be in demand.
"The strong rebound in cyclicals, which are now at relatively high valuation, will lose steam and stocks seen as more defensive, which have been shunned by investors this year, will take the lead," said Francois Chevallier, strategist at Banque Leonardo.
Stocks in the FTSEurofirst 300 index now trade at 13.11 times expected earnings, according to Reuters data -- a level not seen since July 2007, just before fears over banks' balance sheets started to derail the market's 4-1/2-year bull run.
Energy stocks lost ground after crude oil prices fell nearly 2 percent. BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow Oil, Repsol, Total and StatoilHydro were down 0.8-3.1 percent.
Miners were also lower. BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and ENRC fell 2.6-4.9 percent.
Vivendi, Europe's largest entertainment group, rose 1.1 percent after it delivered forecast-beating second-quarter profits and ruled out reviving talks with Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain.
Eiffage fell 9.3 percent after the French public works group posted a sharp drop in earnings and cut its revenue outlook for 2009.
Around Europe, UK's FTSE 100 index, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 fell 1.8-2.5 percent.
"Maybe the market is just a bit uncomfortable at having progressed non-stop against a background of incredibly good newsflow," said Mike Lenhoff, strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
(Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson in Paris; editing by John Stonestreet)