European shares end lower; rate cuts fail to cheer

* FTSEurofirst 300 index closes 0.4 percent lower

* Miners suffer tracking weaker metals prices

* Market fails to cheer despite sharp rate cuts

By Atul Prakash

LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - European shares ended lower on Thursday as a slew of grim economic and company news flagged tough times ahead after steep rate cuts by the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and Sweden's Riksbank.

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index closed 0.4 percent lower at 826.71 points in choppy trade, after rising as much as 2.6 percent and falling as much as 1.8 percent. The index is down 45 percent so far this year.

Miners were one of the top losers on the index, tracking lower metal prices. BHP Billiton (BLT.L), Anglo American (AAL.L), Lonmin (LMI.L), Xstrata (XTA.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L) fell between 0.2 and 8.8 percent.

Among other significant decliners, Swedbank (SWEDa.ST) fell 8.8 percent, EDF (EDF.PA) lost 7.2 percent, GDF Suez (GSZ.PA) declined 4.7 percent and Old Mutual (OML.L) lost 6 percent.  Continued...