* FTSEurofirst 300 close down 2.5 percent * Financials fall as ECB says may be further writedowns * Commodities weigh as crude, metals retreat
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - European shares closed lower on Monday, with financials the main drag as the European Central Bank (ECB) said euro zone banks may face further writedowns, while commodity stocks fell as crude and metal prices retreated.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed 2.5 percent lower at 863.34 points. The market has rallied around 33 percent since reaching a life-time low in early March.
"The market has been losing momentum in the past 10 days and is lacking any leadership from a sectoral standpoint," said Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland Research.
"Companies are still not seeing a recovery in a demand ... It is a transition from a strong rally which we have seen since March to a consolidation or fall back to more appropriate levels as markets went too fast too far," Ruland said.
Bank stocks weighed heavily on the index. The ECB said euro zone banks face potential further writedowns of $283 billion through 2010, while euro area insurance companies may face significant balance sheet stress due to financial market turbulence and weak economies.
HSBC, Banco Santander, UBS, Barclays and Deutsche Bank were down between 3.1 and 5.8 percent.
Among insurers, AXA, Swiss Re and Allianz were 3.1 to 4.3 percent lower.
However, Lloyds Banking Group gained 2.3 percent after the Times said at the weekend Commonwealth Bank of Australia may join a list of potential bidders for the third-party funds business of its investment management unit, Insight.
COMMODITIES WEIGH
Energy stocks were lower as crude fell 3.2 percent. BG Group , BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total were down 2.1 to 3.6 percent.
Miners were in the doldrums as copper slipped 4.1 percent. Lonmin fell 9.8 percent, following news it had shut down its No. 1 furnace on Sunday due to a production incident, and started up three other furnaces with about half the capacity.
Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, Rio Tinto and Xstrata were down 2.1 to 7.3 percent.
Bayer fell 4.1 percent after the chief executive of its pharmaceutical unit, Bayer Schering Pharma, told a newspaper price pressure in the industry is intensifying due to the economic crisis.
In macro economic news, the New York state factory sector shrank at a more severe rate in June than during the previous month, the New York Federal Reserve said, confounding expectations of a slight improvement. Meanwhile, the 16-country euro zone lost a record 1.22 million jobs in the first quarter of 2009, data showed, highlighting the depth of the recession and boding ill for hopes of a quick turnaround.
"Markedly weakening labour markets are a major threat to recovery prospects in the Eurozone. Sharply higher and rising unemployment will weigh down on Eurozone consumer spending," said IHS Global Insight Chief Economist Howard Archer.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was down 2.4 percent, Germany's DAX was 3.5 percent lower and France's CAC 40 was down 3.2 percent. (Editing by David Holmes)