* FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.2 percent
* Construction stocks hit by Hochtief's profit warning
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - European shares slipped on Monday ahead of the first quarter earnings season in the United States as jitters resurfaced that high raw material prices could further strain corporate margins.
A fresh 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Japan also stretched nerves. An earlier tsunami warnings, however, was subsequently lifted.
By 1048 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.2 percent at 1,146.65 points, with strong support around its 50-day moving average, at 1,144.87 points.
U.S. aluminium company Alcoa kicks off the U.S. reporting season after markets close on Monday, with glued to companies' outlooks for the medium-term in light of strong crude prices.
"Sales trends in the first quarter will be supportive for earnings growth. However investors will pay close attention to the outlook regarding input costs and margins for the second and third quarter and here the picture looks less favourable," said Tammo Greetfeld, equity strategist at UniCredit.
Greetfeld said investors will also pay close attention to any reference to supply chain disruptions following the earthquake in Japan, with the auto and semiconductor sector seen particularly vulnerable.
"There may be indirect effects that are difficult to discover at this point in time and will become clearer as April progresses."
Construction firms were among the fallers, with Germany's Hochtief shedding 8.5 percent after it slashed its outlook on an expected big loss at its Australian Leighton unit. Lafarge, Holcim and Vinci fell 0.9 to 1.5 percent.
Limiting further losses, heavyweight mining shares rose as a weaker dollar supported metals and gold prices. BHP Billiton was among the biggest risers, up 2.2 percent, with a ratings upgrade by Credit Suisse helping its gains.
UK lenders Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland were also on the rise, up 3.2 and 2.1 percent respectively, on relief following a key report on the future structure of banking in Britain.
"They've got away with it, apart from Lloyds which might have to sell off more assets," said John Smith, senior fund manager at Brown Shipley.
"It could have been harsher and there's relief that it's been in line with expectations."
CRUDE WORRIES
Brent crude prices fell below a 32-month high around $126 after the African Union said Libya's Gaddafi had accepted a roadmap to end the civil war, but gains since the beginning of the year have added almost 32 percent to its price, prompting concern over the impact of sustained high prices.
"We also feel that the rise in oil prices, if sustained, has the potential to be more damaging for some of the pro-cyclical export sectors. Our preferences include financials, utilities and to a lesser extent telecom," RBS analysts wrote in a note.
Concerns over high raw material prices hit soft drinks bottler Coca-Coca Hellenic, which dropped 4.1 percent to feature as the biggest faller on the FTSEurofirst 300 index, with traders highlighting concerns that persistently high oil prices would burden its costs.
(Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson in Paris; Editing by David Cowell)