* FTSEurofirst 300 index falls 1.1 percent
* U.S. consumer confidence data drags shares lower
* Banks and energy companies main fallers
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Tuesday, led lower by banks and energy companies, after U.S. consumer confidence readings proved weaker than expected, but European equities gained 15.9 percent over the second quarter. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 1.1 percent to 850.17 points. The index rose 15.9 percent over the second quarter, its best performance since 1999, having hit a lifetime low on March 9.
However, the rally has stalled in recent weeks, as some analysts feel it had gone too far, relative to the evidence of recovery.
"We're at that stage now, where bad news will make a bigger dent than decent news," said Howard Wheeldon, strategist at BGC Partners, in London. "And it doesn't take much. Volumes are so low today, they're just tiny."
U.S. consumer confidence fell in June after two straight months of gains. The Conference Board, an industry group, said on Tuesday its index of consumer attitudes dropped to 49.3 from 54.8 in May.
BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Societe Generale fell between 1.7 and 2.9 percent. Lloyds Banking Group fell 0.9 percent after announcing 2,100 job cuts. Crude oil prices fell more than 3 percent to less than $69.30 a barrel, hurting energy shares.
Total, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Repsol and StatoilHydro fell between 1.2 and 1.7 percent.
The price of copper and other metals was also hurt by the fall in consumer confidence. Mining groups Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and Xstrata fell between 1.8 and 2.7 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC-40 were down between 1 and 1.7 percent.
Wall Street was lower as European bourses were closing. The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were down between 0.8 and 1.4 percent.
CARREFOUR FALLS
Carrefour shares dropped 3 percent on disappointment that Europe's biggest retailer had not, by the time the market closed, unveiled a big cost-cutting programme at an analyst day in Paris. The company released information later. Marks & Spencer fell 1.1 percent, ahead of a trading update on Wednesday.
Among the gainers, French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis rose 1.1 percent, recovering some ground lost recently, after saying it will close eight of its 27 research and development sites, without making forced layoffs, as it remodels R&D activities to respond to changes in the drug industry.
Newspaper publisher Daily Mail closed 4.2 percent higher after UBS upgraded it to "neutral".
European stock markets will make only modest headway for the rest of this year after a surging spring rally was checked by fears of a prolonged recession, a Reuters poll found.
European macroeconomic data, like that in the United States, was also downbeat. The British economy shrank at its fastest pace in more than 50 years in the first three months of 2009 and has been in recession for a whole year, boosting expectations ultra-loose monetary policy could get even looser.
(Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Simon Jessop)