* FTSEurofirst gains 1.2 pct, on track for 6th day of gains
* U.S. elections top focus
* Key company results disappoint
By Sitaraman Shankar
LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - European shares rose early on
Tuesday, putting them on track for a sixth straight day of gains
as banks and defensives advanced, while investors trained their
sights on the U.S. presidential election.
At 0942 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 1.2 percent at 944.97 points.
Banks were broadly higher, with Switzerland's UBS <UBSN.VX>
a prominent gainer after it confirmed a small third-quarter
profit and said it had seen some encouraging signs of client
money flows in October.
BBVA <BBVA.MC> rose 4.8 percent and Societe Generale
<SOGN.PA> jumped 6 percent. SocGen's chief executive told French
newspaper Les Echos that it could issue another 1.7 billion euro
hybrid bond next year.
But the index's gains were limited by weakness in mining
shares that tracked metal prices lower on economic worries.
Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>,
Vedanta <VED.L> and Antofagasta <ANTO.L> fell 3.7-4.9 percent.
Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in five
out of eight key battleground states as Americans prepare to
vote in the White House race, according to a series of
Reuters/Zogby polls released on Tuesday.
"Investors are marking time ahead of the elections, gearing
up for all the drama," said Bernard McAlinden, strategist at NCB
Stockbrokers in Dublin.
"A clear mandate either way is the important thing for
equity markets. There is the implicit notion that things were
not right anyway, and my impression is that people want someone
with the energy to change things, including markets."
Select defensive utility, telecom and food and pharma stocks
rose. Telefonica <TEF.MC>, Enel <ENEI.MI>, Roche <ROG.VX> and
Nestle <NESN.VX> rose 1.5-3.5 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> rose 0.6 percent,
Germany's DAX <> rose 0.9 percent and France's CAC <>
rose 1.3 percent.
RESULTS WORRY
The FTSEurofirst 300 has lost nearly 40 percent this year,
part of a global equities slump sparked by a credit crisis that
shook the world's top banks and slowed the economy.
Strategists have long expected the macroeconomic picture to
cast a shadow on company results, and have been saying that
analysts' forecasts for next year are too high.
Some third-quarter results appeared to be vindicating that
view.
BMW <BMWG.DE> fell 5 percent after the world's largest
premium carmaker missed expectations for its third-quarter
results and said guiding for 2008 was no longer possible.
Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> reported a
smaller-than-expected writedown on toxic assets in the third
quarter but said it faced more this quarter and bad debts are
rising sharply, sending its shares down 7 percent.
Swiss Re <RUKN.VX>, the world's second-biggest reinsurer,
reported a surprise third-quarter net loss, sending shares down
6 percent.
But retailer Marks & Spencer <MKS.L> rose 7 percent after
posing a smaller-than-expected drop in first-half profit, and
chemicals group Clariant <CLN.VX> soared 11 percent after it
beat forecasts with its quarterly profit.
One policy response to the credit crisis and the slowing
economy has been to cut interest rates.
Australia joined several other central banks on Tuesday by
cutting its benchmark cash rate by 75 basis points.
The focus now shifts to the European Central Bank and the
Bank of England, which are widely expected to serve up 50-basis
point cuts on Thursday.
(Reporting by Sitaraman Shankar; Editing by Erica Billingham)
