European shares fall as Goldman note hits banks

* FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.7 percent

* Banks weigh, Barclays down 3.4 percent

* Oil stocks rise on crude climb

By Sylvia Westall

FRANKFURT, July 4 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Friday as a bearish brokerage comment dented banking shares, while oil stocks were driven higher by rising crude prices, ahead of a holiday weekend in the United States.

At 1142 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.7 percent at 1,169.63 points. United States markets are closed for the Independence Day holiday.

Banks fell after Goldman Sachs cut its rating on Spain's Santander (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) to "neutral" from "buy" and lowered price targets for Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), Commerzbank (CBKG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and Deutsche Postbank (DPBGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research).

The German banks fell between 2 and 3 percent, Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) shed 3.4 percent, while Austria's Raiffeisen International (RIBH.VI: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 5 percent, a leading loser in Europe.