European shares edge down ahead of Basel III rules

* FTSEurofirst 300 edges down 0.1 pct

* Deutsche Bank slips on capital raising talk

* Banks weak, but pare losses ahead of Basel III outcome

* German auto makers rise on export figures

By Harpreet Bhal

LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - European shares edged lower on Friday, with Deutsche Bank down on talks it plans to raise capital, while other banks pared losses as concerns over capital requirements eased ahead of the release of the Basel III rules.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index closed 0.1 percent lower at 1,081.02 points, retreating from its highest closing level since late April on Thursday.

Falls were kept in check by gains in German auto makers BMW , Daimler and Volkswagen , which rose 1.6 to 3.6 percent, helped by data showing exports from the auto sector rose 40.8 percent year-on-year in the first half of the year, compared with 17.1 percent overall export growth.

Deutsche Bank shed 4.6 percent after two people familiar with the matter said Germany's top lender was considering a capital increase to bolster its balance sheet as Basel III capital requirements are finalised. [ID:nLDE6850Q9]

The STOXX Europe 600 banking index <.SX7P> was down 0.5 percent, but bounced off earlier lows as analysts said fears over the implications of the Basel Committee's new bank capital rules, to be announced on the weekend, might have been overdone.

The Basel Committee of central bank and regulatory officials agreed a proposal for tougher new global bank capital rules on Tuesday but is keeping the details confidential until Sunday.

"There is a feeling that the rules are not going to be as harsh as previously thought. The need to raise capital is more of a medium-term concern, and the market isn't too worried about that at the moment," said David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index.

Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE> added 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> shed 0.1 percent and France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> was up 0.1 percent.

CASH CALLS

The German banking association said the Basel Committee would probably require banks to have a Tier 1 capital ratio of 6 percent, up from 4 percent, and expects Germany's 10 biggest banks could need 105 billion euros ($141 billion) of additional capital under the revamp of the banking rules. [ID:nLDE6850Q9]

German banks Commerzbank and UniCredit were down 2.5 and 0.2 percent, while peers Royal Bank of Scotland , Societe Generale and BNP Paribas bucked the trend to rise 0.7 to 0.8 percent.

National Bank of Greece also launched a rights issue this week, and more lenders in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy could tap investors for funds, analysts said.

"Deutsche is the strongest, and it's going first -- who's behind them?" said Philip Isherwood, equity strategist at Evolution Securities in London. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Graphic on European banks' capital raising:

http://r.reuters.com/cyw42p ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Miners came under pressure from lower metals prices, with copper falling on concerns about tighter policy in top consumer China. BHP Billiton , Anglo American , Rio Tinto , Xstrata and ENRC fell 0.3 to 1.2 percent.

Spain's Gas Natural fell 4 percent after French utility GDF Suez sold its entire 5.01 percent stake through a block trade for a total of 540 million euros ($685 million).

On the upside, drugmaker Novartis added 1.7 percent after winning its first approval for multiple sclerosis (MS) tablet Gilenya in Russia, raising hopes of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval later this month. [ID:nLDE6890S1] (Additional reporting by Brian Gorman; Graphics by Vincent Flasseur; Editing by Will Waterman)