* FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.2 percent
* Utility, banking shares feature among top losers
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By Atul Prakash
LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - European equities drifted lower on Wednesday after hitting four-week highs, with EDF dragging down utilities following a target price cut, while banks fell on worries about the euro zone debt crisis.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.2 percent at 1,141.49 at 0905 GMT, after earlier touching 1,146.54, its highest since March 9.
The STOXX Europe 600 Utilities index, down 0.8 percent, topped the losers' list, while EDF fell 4.1 percent after Citigroup cut its price target and said EDF remained its least favoured utility in France as well as in the sector.
Banks also lost ground, with the sector index down 0.4 percent. Allied Irish Bank slipped 16.7 percent as sentiment worsened after Standard and Poor's downgraded its ratings on Irish banks on Tuesday.
Across Europe, Portugal's PSI 20 fell 1.1 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB was down 0.7 percent.
"Portugal and the threat of a required bailout continue to dominate investor thoughts. While any bailout of Portugal is not seen as tipping Europe over the edge, the failure of the region's politicians to resolve the big issues continues to apply pressure," Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Keith Bowman said.
"An expected ECB rate hike is also mudding waters, with some investors believing the move is primarily being made to jolt politicians into action."
Investors waited for the sale of Portuguese treasury bills on Wednesday. Portuguese yields reached new euro lifetime highs as the country's ratings were downgraded after the government collapsed.
Local banks have threatened to stop buying government bonds unless the country seeks a foreign loan soon. Retailers, however, gained ground as after Marks & Spencer beat a sales forecast and said it had not seen a major deterioration in consumer confidence recently. M&S shares rose 5.3 percent, while the STOXX Europe 600 Retail index gained 0.6 percent. (Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Dan Lalor)