Miners lead European shares lower; Aegon falls

* FTSEurofirst 300 down 1.2 percent

* Miners track metals prices lower

* Aegon, Allianz fall after earnings

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

By Brian Gorman

LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - European shares were lower early on Thursday, led by mining and energy stocks after a weakening demand outlook hit commodity prices, and with insurer Aegon lower as results missed forecasts.

Mining heavyweights to fall included Anglo American , BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto , down 2.2-3.3 percent.

The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares was down 1.2 percent at 1,139.74 points at 0846 GMT, after rising 0.3 percent in the previous session.

The index remained above its 50-day moving average, regarded by technical analysts as a positive signal.

The European benchmark is up 76 percent from a lifetime low in March, 2009, helped by monetary stimulus from governments and central banks worldwide. It has recently traded in a range bounded by its 2011 high in mid-February and low in mid-March.

London copper edged lower on Thursday after plunging overnight to its lowest price since December on concern about slowing demand from China, the world's top consumer.

"The slowdown we have seen in a wide range of economic indicators suggests there is concern among investors about the continued strength of the commodity complex," said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, strategist at Charles Stanley.

"There is a high (inverse) correlation between equities and the dollar, which is strong, because the euro is weak, with the ongoing crisis at the periphery of the euro zone."

Worries about a cooling Chinese economy after data showed industrial output growth slowing more than expected helped fuel Wednesday's slide, which saw the Reuters/Jefferies CRB index <.CRB> -- a broad measure of commodity performance -- drop 3 percent. [ID:nL3E7GB0H2]

Brent crude steadied below $113 a barrel on Thursday after a fall of over $5 in the previous session on rising gasoline inventories and falling demand for the motor fuel in top consumer the United States.

Energy companies to fall included Total , and BP , down 1.7 percent and 1.2 percent respectively. Repsol fell 0.8 percent, though its results beat forecasts.

Airline stocks tend to gain from lower fuel prices. Easyjet and International Airlines Group were up 1.9 percent and 1.5 percent respectively, the latter helped by expectations of the end of a staff dispute at British Airways.

AEGON FALLS

Among individual companies, Aegon fell 4.1 percent after first-quarter profit missed forecasts.

Elsewhere in the sector, German group Allianz shed 1.2 percent after net profit fell 45 percent in the first quarter, hit by damage claims from the earthquake in Japan and other natural disasters. [ID:nLDE74A2FW]

On the upside, French bank Natixis posted higher-than-forecast first-quarter results, buoyed by resilient capital markets activity and falling loan provisions, despite a volatile quarter for the banking sector. [ID:nLDE74B03W]

Of 273 STOXX Europe 600 companies due to report in the current earnings season, 75 percent have done so, of which 56 percent have beaten or met forecasts, Thomson Reuters StarMine data showed.

Batstone-Carr said: "While the results season has been very successful, the tone of outlook statements has prompted a number of analysts to temper their expectations going forward."

Other strategists were more upbeat, arguing that recovery was still on track. Pointing to the role of speculators in commodities markets, "I would be profoundly sceptical that the commodity price pullback is telling us anything useful," Ian Harwood, chief economist at Evolution Securities, said in a note.

"Any sustained oil price pull-back can clearly only constitute good news for global economic growth." (Editing by Dan Lalor)