Europe shares slide; financials, commodities weigh

LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - European stocks fell in early trade on Thursday, adding to the previous session's selloff, as banks dropped on escalating concerns about a deep global slowdown and commodities tracked weaker crude and metals prices.

At 0805 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was down 2.2 percent at 794.20 points. The benchmark index fell to a 5-1/2-year closing low on Wednesday and is down more than 47 percent this year.

European banks remained under pressure after Citigroup Inc (C.N) faced a crisis of confidence on Wednesday as investors questioned the survival prospects of the U.S. banking giant, and its shares tumbled 23 percent to a 13-year low.

"Having seen Lehmans and Merrill Lynch fall by the wayside this year, the sight of another major such as Citigroup struggling will prove a bitter pill to swallow," said Chris Hossain, senior sales manager at ODL Securities.

Dexia (DEXI.BR) was down 7 percent, Fortis (FOR.BR) slipped 10.5 percent, Barclays (BARC.L) fell 4.5 percent, HBOS (HBOS.L) was down 5.8 percent and UBS (UBSN.VX) fell 7.2 percent.

Energy and mining shares were also under pressure.

Across Europe, the FTSE 100 .FTSE index was down 1.7 percent, Germany's DAX .GDAXI was 2.5 percent lower and France's CAC 40 .FCHI was down 2 percent.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash)