Europe shares weaken after Monday's rally; oils dip

* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 0.5 pct after Monday's 9-month high

# Energy, mining shares down; follow weaker commodity prices

* Financial sector up, but Standard Chartered falls

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

By Atul Prakash

LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Tuesday after hitting a nine-month high a day ago, with some investors taking profits following a key index surge of 17 percent in the last three weeks, while commodity shares tracked weaker crude and metals prices.

At 0803 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares was down 0.5 percent at 937.07 points. The index, which slumped 45 percent in 2008, is up 46 percent since falling to a lifetime low in early March.

Energy shares were among the top losers, with the sector tracking crude oil prices that fell more than 1 percent on concerns about a rise in U.S. crude inventories. BP , Royal Dutch Shell , BG Group , Repsol and Total between 0.4 and 1 percent.

"If you run up so fast and so far, it's quite natural that you have some profit taking," Luc Van Hecka, chief economist at KBC Securities, said.

"But the overall trend is certainly positive and the market is of the opinion that the worst is over. It is responding quite logically to the fact that earnings have generally been better than expected," he added.

Drugmakers also lost ground in line with the broader market trend. AstraZeneca , GlaxoSmithKline , Novartis and Shire were down 0.1-0.7 percent.

Across Europe, the UK's FTSE 100 index <.FTSE>, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> were down 0.4-0.6 percent.

BANKS UP, BUT STANCHART DOWN

However, the financial sector remained strong and featured among the top gainers on the European index.

Barclays , Lloyds , Royal Bank of Scotland , BNP Paribas , Societe Generale , Credit Agricole and KBC Groep were up between 1.5 percent and 5.2 percent.

But some banks came under pressure. Asia-focused Standard Chartered fell 3.3 percent after the bank unveiled a surprise 1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) fundraising as it beat expectations with a record pretax profit for the first six months of 2009. [ID:nL4317381]

"If there is one cloud overhanging the shares, it is that ironically Standard may have become a victim of its own success," said Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.

"The shares have risen 10 percent over the last year, as against a 12 percent drop in the wider FTSE 100, which has given rise to some valuation concerns."

UBS fell 0.3 percent after the Swiss bank posted another big loss in the second quarter as wealthy clients continued to take their cash elsewhere, but there were signs of improvement in its best underlying performance in two years.

Miners lost ground as key metal prices fell. Copper was down 1.3 percent and aluminium fell 2 percent. BHP Billiton , Anglo American , Antofagasta , Rio Tinto and Eurasian Natural Resources fell 0.7-3.1 percent. (Editing by Mike Nesbit)