Financials pull European shares to lower close

* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 1.2 percent

* Banks leading losers; Deutsche Bank down 3.7 pct

* Insurers also weak; AXA drops 4 pct

* U.S. data sends mixed signals on economic recovery

By Peter Starck

FRANKFURT, May 28 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Thursday, led by financials such as Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and AXA (AXAF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), with scant corporate news to give direction and U.S. data sending mixed signals on economic recovery prospects.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 1.2 percent lower at 860.21 points, having fallen as much as 2.0 percent earlier in the session.

The benchmark, which lost 45 percent in 2008, advanced 36 percent from a lifetime low on March 9 until May 7 and has remained rangebound between about 823 and 878 points since then.

"The stock markets have no trigger to move up," said Giuseppe-Guido Amato, equity strategist at German brokerage Lang & Schwarz. "If they refuse to go up, they'll go down."