* FTSEurofirst 300 index closes down 0.1 percent
* Drugmakers fall; Sanofi-Aventis drug safety concerns
* Volkswagen gains possible Suzuki tie-up
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - European shares closed lower on Friday as drugmakers fell, led by Sanofi-Aventis, while commodities retreated on lower crude and metal prices.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed down 0.1 percent at 844.59 points, having reached as high as 856.74 earlier in the day.
"It's been a funny kind of day. The market started off well and then slipped back. It is difficult to say what it is," said Peter Dixon, strategist at Commerzbank.
"Over the course of the day sentiment has seemed to have dissipated. I also think it is a bit of a reaction to the negative day in the U.S. Investors just want to sell and take profits," Dixon said.
Major U.S. indexes were down 0.1-0.6 percent.
Drugmakers took the most points off the index. Sanofi-Aventis slipped 8.1 percent, extending the previous day's losses, while Novo Nordisk fell 3.7 percent on continuing concerns about the safety of Sanofi's diabetes drug Lantus and modern insulins in general.
Energy stocks were lower as crude fell back 1.7 percent. BP , Royal Dutch Shell and Premier Oil slipped 0.2-2.1 percent.
Miners were in the doldrums as copper retreated 1 percent. Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation and Rio Tinto were down 0.7-2 percent.
The banking sector was mixed. UBS fell 5.3 percent after it said late Thursday it would raise $3.5 billion (3.8 billion Swiss francs) in new capital and post a second-quarter loss.
TECHNOLOGY GAINS
Other banks were higher. HSBC, Banco Santander, Royal Bank of Scotland and Deutsche Bank were up 0.8-4 percent.
Technology stocks added the most to the index.
Shares in German chipmaker Infineon rose 1.6 percent after several brokers lifted their target prices after the company raised its guidance for its third quarter.
Carmakers ticked up. Volkswagen gained 2.9 percent after a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday that it is exploring a deal to cooperate with the Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor to boost its presence in ultra-small cars.
"The ultra-small car segment is expected to grow substantially through high demand in emerging markets such as Index and potential demand in mega cities," said MM Warburg analyst Marc-Rene Tonn.
Shares in Norway's Telenor jumped 4.7 percent after a Russian newspaper reported it was close to agreeing with Russian partner the Alfa Group on a merger of their Russian and Ukrainian mobile telecom interests. In macro economic news, investors shrugged aside data that showed U.S. consumer spending rose as expected in May while personal income posted a larger than expected jump as consumers spent government stimulus money.
Meanwhile, U.S. consumer confidence rose in June to the highest since February 2008, as expectations grew that the worst economic recession since the Great Depression may be ending, a survey showed. Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was down 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX was 0.5 percent lower and France's CAC 40 was down 1.1 percent.
(Editing by David Cowell)