* FTSEurofirst 300 index down 0.5 percent
* Commods fall tracking weaker prices
* Media stocks rise after Credit Suisse upgrade
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - European shares were down by midday on Friday, with commodity stocks the main drag on the index as they tracked lower crude and metal prices.
By 1030 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.5 percent at 839.02 points after hitting a one-week low of 838.21 points earlier in the session.
The U.S. market was closed on Friday for Independence Day holiday.
"Historically July 4 in Europe tends to be a muted session and we wouldn't expect today's session to be any different," said Joshua Raymond, market strategist at City Index.
"Yesterday was a particularly poor trading day and the disappointing jobs data in the U.S. may have convinced anyone who thought about trading today to stay away," he said.
Mining stocks took the most points off the index as copper fell 1.4 percent.
Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, Rio Tinto and Xstrata were 0.8-2.6 percent lower.
Energy stocks were on the downside as crude slipped 0.5 percent. BG Group, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total were down 0.2-1.1 percent.
French utility EDF lost 5.4 percent after Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating on the stock to "equal weight" from "overweight", while both UBS and Citigroup trimmed their price target on the stock.
BANKS, MEDIA STOCKS GAIN
Banks were the biggest risers on the index. HSBC, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Banco Santander gained 0.5-1.9 percent.
Media stocks were boosted after Credit Suisse upgraded the sector to "overweight" from "underweight".
Professional information providers Reed Elsevier and Wolters Kluwer rose over 3 percent, while Vivendi, WPP and Pearson were 0.4-0.9 percent higher.
Defensive stocks were in favour, with drugmakers Sanofi-Aventis, Roche and AstraZeneca up 0.5-1.9 percent.
Turning to macro economic data, euro zone retail sales fell further than expected in May, dampening hopes an improvement in consumer spending might ease the recession.
On Thursday, data showed U.S. employers shed nearly half a million jobs in June when the unemployment rate surged to 9.5 percent, the highest in nearly 26 years.
"Payrolls were a wake-up call," said Jacques Henry, analyst at Louis Capital Markets in Paris.
"The data showed that the economic recovery remains fragile and more downbeat data is to be expected, particularly on the jobs front. Stocks are ripe for a consolidation period."
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was down 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX was 0.5 percent lower and France's CAC 40 was down 0.5 percent. (Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Dan Lalor)