* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 2.8 pct; hits 5-week closing low
* Weaker crude, metals prices pressure commodity stocks
* Anglo American gains on Xstrata seeking merger talks
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) - European shares hit a five-week closing low on Monday, with weaker crude oil and metals prices pressuring commodity stocks and a World Bank report on the state of the global economy dampening market sentiment.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 2.8 percent lower at 837.22 points -- the lowest closing level since mid-May and the biggest one-day decline in more than two months. But the index, which slumped 45 percent in 2008, has jumped 30 percent since touching a lifetime low in early March.
Energy stocks were among top decliners as oil prices fell about 4 percent. BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow Oil, Repsol, Total and StatoilHydro shed 3.2-7.8 percent.
Banking stocks also suffered as investors became more cautious about the strength of any economic recovery. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Societe Generale, Natixis and Commerzbank fell 3.4-7.6 percent.
Market sentiment got a hit after the World Bank warned that prospects for the global economy remained "unusually uncertain" despite recent signs of an improvement in parts of the world, and it cut its 2009 growth forecasts for most economies.
"The World Bank's forecast is certainly playing a role. People were becoming perhaps a bit too complacent that most of the difficulties with the financial crisis were behind us. I see some cautious forces here and there," said Luc Van Hecka, chief economist at KBC Securities.
"I do not believe that we are in again for a steep correction, but the market is expected to remain volatile in the near term," he added.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 were 2.6-3 percent lower.
MINERS SLIP, BUT ANGLO AMERICAN UP
Miners also lost ground as copper prices fell 3.8 percent, aluminium slipped more than 5 percent and nickel declined 3.3 percent as demand worries resurfaced.
BHP Billiton, Antofagasta, Lonmin, Rio Tinto and Eurasian Natural Resources fell 3.9-8.2 percent.
But Anglo American gained 4.6 percent after Xstrata said it wanted talks with the group about a proposed merger of equals worth about $68 billion, seeking increased scale and cost synergies.
Analysts said that it might be good for the market to take a breather after an impressive rally since early March and others advised caution.
"The depth of the recession is still apparent. This is a large decline in output, driven largely by sharp declines in capital spending and aggressive reductions in inventories," said Darren Winder, head of macro and strategy research at Cazenove.
But the market also witnessed some positive data. German business sentiment rose to a seven-month high in June although analysts said plenty of risks remained given that expectations fuelled the rise in sentiment.
German industrial conglomerate Siemens said it expected to win new orders of around 15 billion euros ($20.9 billion), mostly green projects, from economic stimulus programmes worldwide in the next three business years. Its shares, however, fell 3.4 percent in line with the market trend.
"There's certainly no shortage of commentators out there who have for the last few months been calling for more blood-letting in the market before any recovery can finally take hold," said David Fineberg, chief dealer at CMC Markets.
"And with the fundamentals remaining relatively thin on the ground for the time being it's certainly not beyond doubt that the bears could come marching back in." (Additional reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Greg Mahlich)