* FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.3 percent
* Danske Bank, Natixis drop
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By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - European shares were lower at midday on Tuesday, slipping back further from Friday's nine-month closing high, as Natixis led banking stocks down.
At 1115 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.3 percent at 942.14 points.
Europe's benchmark index is still near its highest in nine months and is up 46 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as investors have become more confident of the prospects of recovery.
"We need a pullback to shake the tree to see if the rally is really genuine," said David Buik, senior partner at BGC Partners, in London. "Remember, there's billions on the sidelines.
"It looks as though the United States' economy will pick up before others do. The dollar is due a rally and the price of oil and gold will drop, and so will equities. I'm a believer (in equities rising) by the end of the year, but I don't like things going in a straight line."
France's Natixis plunged 14.4 percent after the firm's parent BCPE bank told French market regulator AMF it does not plan to delist Natixis as part of a strategic review.
Denmark's biggest financial group Danske Bank fell 2.5 percent after it reported a drop in second-quarter profit. Barclays, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Lloyds and UBS fell between 0.9 and 9.4 percent.
German chemicals and drug company Bayer fell 1.7 percent despite denying market rumours that it was looking to raise more capital.
Adecco, the world's largest staffing company, fell 4.1 percent after it missed forecasts with a second-quarter loss and said it was buying the UK's Spring Group, headed by former Adecco man Peter Searle, to boost its professional staffing business.
FRIENDS RISES
UK insurer Friends Provident was 1.9 percent higher at 76.25 pence, after agreeing a 1.86 billion pound ($3.07 billion) takeover by Resolution.
Friends also posted a 38 percent drop in first-half underlying profit to 131 million pounds, below forecast. Friends, which floated at 225 pence in 2001, rose 7 percent on Monday.
Diageo, the world's biggest spirits firm, gained 1.4 percent on the back of Deutsche Bank upgrading the stock to "buy" from "hold".
"The market is in keeping a low profile at the moment," said Postbank equity strategist Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein.
Oil and gas stocks were also among the gainers, as crude prices remained relatively high, just below $71 a barrel, as record Chinese oil imports and refinery production helped offset mixed economic data.
BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Repsol were up between 0.5 and 1 percent.
German real estate company GAGFAH fell 7.9 percent, after a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Goldman Sachs has placed 10 million shares on behalf of an unidentified investor. Goldman declined to comment.
Later in the day, investors will look at labour costs and wholesale inventories data in the United States.
Futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down between 0.1 and 0.2 percent.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index and Germany's DAX were both down 0.1 percent. France's CAC 40 was up 0.2 percent. (Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt; Editing by Rupert Winchester)