* FTSEurofirst 300 down 1.1 percent, at 1-1/2 week low
* Banks, miners biggest losers; pharma stocks inch higher
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By Blaise Robinson
PARIS, Sept 1 (Reuters) - European stocks were down 1.1 percent around midday on Tuesday in a broad retreat led by banks and miners such as UBS and Xstrata as investors booked recent strong gains ahead of key U.S. data.
Pharmaceutical stocks bucked the trend, with AstraZeneca up 1.6 percent, boosted by positive trial results from its experimental blood thinner Brilinta.
At 1133 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 1.1 percent at 961.33 points, after falling to a 1-1/2 week low of 958.60 points earlier in the session.
The index suffered most of the day's losses in a 20-minute span in morning trade.
"People are just taking profits off the table at the moment," said Francois Chevallier, strategist at Banque Leonardo, in Paris.
Banks lost ground, with HSBC down 3.2 percent, Banco Santander down 1.7 percent and UBS down 3.4 percent. The DJ STOXX banking index was down 2 percent.
Miners also dropped, falling along with metal prices. Anglo American shed 4.3 percent, Rio Tinto fell 2.3 percent and Xstrata was down 3.4 percent.
"Stock valuations are more or less back to normal, and now that this is done, the focus will turn to consensus upgrades," Chevallier said.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares has surged 49 percent since reaching a floor in early March, helped by an improving macro landscape as well as better-than-feared corporate results.
According to Reuters data, out of the 253 companies listed on the DJ STOXX 600 index that have reported their results in the current earnings season, 132 beat, 2 matched and 119 missed the estimates.
P/E RATIOS AT MID-2007 LEVELS
Stocks in the FTSEurofirst 300 index currently trade at 13.11 times expected earnings, according to Reuters data -- a level not seen since July 2007, just before fears over banks' balance sheets started to derail the market's 4-1/2-year bull run.
"The strong rebound in cyclicals, which are now at relatively high valuation, will lose steam and stocks seen as more defensive, which have been shunned by investors this year, will take the lead," Chevallier said.
So far this year, the DJ STOXX basic resources index is up 55 percent and the banking index is up 52 percent, while the utilities index is down 3.7 percent and the telecom index up 3.9 percent.
The DJ STOXX 600 is up 19 percent year-to-date and the FTSEurofirst 300 is up 16 percent.
"Maybe the market is just a bit uncomfortable at having progressed non-stop against a background of incredibly good newsflow," said Mike Lenhoff, strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
"The market has been looking overbought so maybe technically it is just up with events and apprehensive about storming ahead with no consolidation or pause for breath."
Investors were preparing for the U.S. Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing index for August and for monthly U.S. pending home sales data, both due at 1400 GMT.
According to a Reuters poll, economists forecast a reading of 50.5 for the ISM. A reading below 50 signals a contraction while a reading above 50 signals expansion.
Around Europe, UK's FTSE 100 index was down 1.2 percent on Tuesday, Germany's DAX index down 1.4 percent, and France's CAC 40 down 0.8 percent.
Eiffage sank 7.8 percent after the French public works group posted a sharp drop in earnings and cut its revenue outlook for 2009.
Entertainment group Vivendi rose 1.4 percent after the company reported forecast-beating results and stuck to its 2009 goal for a strong rise in adjusted operating income.
(Additional reporting by Joanne Frearson; editing by John Stonestreet)