Europe stocks halt winning run; miners, banks drop

* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 0.7 percent

* Miners, banks drop; telecoms up

* Eyes on Fiat, Glaxo, M.Stanley results

* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]

By Christoph Steitz

FRANKFURT, July 22 (Reuters) - European shares slipped on Wednesday, snapping a seven-day winning run, as banking and mining stocks weighed, while analysts cautioned about earnings expectations, pointing to profit taking after the recent surge.

At 0821 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares was down 0.7 percent at 881.82 points. The index advanced for a seventh straight session on Tuesday, hitting a 6-1/2 month high, and has gained more than 36 percent from its lifetime low of March 9.

Mining stocks took the most points off the index and the DJ STOXX European Basic Resources Index <.SXPP> was the biggest sectoral loser, down 2.1 percent.

BHP Billiton fell 2.3 percent after the world's largest miner said restocking of commodities in China may have ended. [ID:nSYD463516]

"I don't want to dampen the positive sentiment, but one has to acknowledge that expectations with regard to corporate earnings have been very low," said Commerzbank Chief Strategist Hans-Juergen Delp.

"Caterpillar and Apple have shown that the second earnings season yield results above expectations, but one has to ask the question: Where do those expectations lie?"

Caterpillar results lifted U.S. stocks on Tuesday, while Apple shares rose 4.2 percent in Frankfurt trade on Wednesday.

"it is a realistic assumption, that investors will take some profits over the trading session," Roger Peeters, strategist at Close Brothers Seydler, said.

BANKS DOWN; EYES ON EARNINGS

Banks also fell, with the DJ STOXX European Banks Index <.SX7P> down 0.5 percent, and Deutsche Bank , Barclays and BNP Paribas shedding between 0.4 and 2.4 percent.

Shares in Wincor Nixdorf fell 9.3 percent after the German maker of ATMs posted weaker-than-expected quarterly results, while the company's full-year forecast disappointed. [ID:nWEA1802]

"The outlook puzzles us. Now, being at the end of July, the company is not able to come up with a precise guidance. Thus, we speculate that order cancellations might still be a topic," Equinet analyst Adrian Pehl says in a note.

On the upside, the DJ STOXX European Telecoms Index was the top sectoral gainer, up 0.4 percent, with Deutsche Telekom , Vodafone and Telecom Italia up 0.5-3.1 percent.

Later in the day, investors will focus on a raft of further second-quarter earnings by European companies such as GlaxoSmithKline and Fiat , while U.S. Morgan Stanley will also release results.

Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE> fell 0.5 percent, Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> was 0.7 percent lower and France's CAC-40 <.FCHI> was down 0.9 percent. (Additional reporting by Peter Starck in Frankfurt; Editing by Mike Nesbit)