* FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.2 percent, commods under pressure
* Index on track for best quarterly gains in about a decade
* Banks advance; BNP Paribas gains on capital hike move
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - European equities drifted lower in early trading on Tuesday after sharp gains in the previous session, with weaker commodity shares offsetting gains made by financial stocks, which were supported by BNP Paribas.
At 0808 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was 0.2 percent lower at 999.76 points after rising 1.8 percent in the previous session.
The benchmark index is up 20 percent this year and has surged 55 percent since hitting a record low in early March. It has gained 17.6 percent in the third quarter and is on track to post its best quarterly gains in almost a decade.
Energy shares came under pressure as crude oil prices fell 0.2 percent to trade below $67 a barrel ahead of weekly U.S. crude inventory data, with BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow Oil, Repsol and Total shedding 0.1-1.4 percent.
"The market has come a long way in a relatively short period of time, but there have been some concerns and investors remain nervous," said Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"We have got very crucial figures coming up later this week which are important to the direction of the market going forward," he added.
Investors will keep an eye on the September consumer confidence report from the United States and a house price update from Case/Shiller for July. Later in the week, focus will be on the U.S. non-farm payrolls data.
Miners also lost ground as copper prices fell 0.7 percent and aluminium was down 0.8 percent. BHP Billiton, Anglo American , Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Eurasian Natural Resources fell 0.5-1.7 percent.
BANKS UP, BNP PARIBAS HELPS
Financial shares were in demand. The DJ STOXX banking index , which has jumped 173 percent since March lows, rose 0.6 percent.
BNP Paribas rose 2.5 percent as investors welcomed its move to launch a 4.3 billion euro capital increase and pay back the French state for aid it had earlier received.
"Paying back the state will give them more independence in running their business, especially in their important trading activities," Agilis Gestion fund manager Arnaud Scarpaci said.
Other banks were also higher. Standard Chartered, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Societe Generale gained 0.3-3.4 percent.
European planemaker Airbus fell 1 percent after it confirmed it had cut its 2009 delivery target for A380s by one aircraft to 13 planes and said it was maintaining its delivery forecast for 2010. Spain's FCC jumped 6.3 percent after Deutsche Bank upgraded its rating to "buy" from "hold", citing the builder's exposure to a possible early construction recovery in Spain and Eastern Europe.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 fell 0.3-0.5 percent. (Additional reporting by Sudip Kargupta in Paris; editing by Simon Jessop)