European shares rise in early trade; banks up

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 index rises 0.6 pct
                                
 * Carrefour gains after trading statement
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute stocks news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]
                                
 
                                
 By Brian Gorman
                                
 LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - European shares rose in early
trade on Friday, extending a winning run to three sessions,
after results at U.S. chipmaker Intel <INTC.O> boosted hopes of
a strong earnings season.
                                
 At 0932 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
European shares was up 0.6 percent at 1,069.53 points, near a
15-month high.
                                
 On Thursday, the index rose 0.7 percent and it is up more
than 65 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as several
major economies have emerged from recession, and corporate
profitability has improved.
                                
 Banks added most to the index on Friday. HSBC <HSBA.L>,
Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA>, Lloyds
<LLOY.L> and Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> rose between 0.7 and 1.7
percent.
                                
 Allied Irish Banks <ALBK.I> rose 4.7 percent after Morgan
Stanley initiated coverage with an "overweight" rating.
                                
 Intel Corp's fourth-quarter results roared past Wall Street
forecasts and it gave a bullish margin outlook on higher prices
and firm demand for server chips, reinforcing hopes for a strong
recovery in technology. [ID:nN13151343]
                                
 "Intel is a bit of a bellwether. The results are indicative,
not just for the company," said Bernard McAlinden, investment
strategist at NCB Stockbrokers.
                                
 "I would be surprised if the Q4 earnings season is not a
source of support for the market."
                                
 Technology shares in Europe to rise included chip firms STM
<STM.PA> and Infineon <IFXGn.DE>, up 1.5 percent and 0.6 percent
higher, respectively. 
                                
 Carrefour <CARR.PA> rose 3.1 percent, after the world's
second-largest retailer met expectations for fourth-quarter
sales and said it will hit profit targets for the year just
ended.
                                
 Other retailers to gain included UK supermarket giant Tesco
<TSCO.L>, up 1.2 percent, and Marks & Spencer <MKS.L>, up 0.7
percent.
                                
 Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE>, France's CAC 40
<.FCHI> and Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> were up between 0.2 and 0.6
percent.
                                
 Results from U.S. banking giant JPMorgan <JPM.N>, due at
1200 GMT, may give the market further direction.
                                
 U.S. shares ended higher on Thursday, despite disappointing
retail sales data.
                                
 MAN GROUP FALLS
                                
 Among individual shares, hedge fund firm Man Group <EMG.L>
fell 5.2 percent on Friday after it said assets under management
fell 4 percent to $42.4 billion in the three months to December
due to losses from its underperforming flagship fund AHL and
client outflows.
                                
 Vodafone <VOD.L> fell 1 percent, after UBS cut earnings
estimates.
                                
 Credit information firm Experian <EXPN.L> rose 1.8 percent
after meeting expectations with a modest 1 percent rise in
third-quarter revenue and saying it expected to improve on that
in the coming three months as its key North American unit
recovers.
                                
 However, software maker SAP <SAPG.DE>, which gained after
issuing sales and margin data in the previous session, fell 1.9
percent. Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating to "equal-weight"
and UniCredit cut it to "hold". 
                                
 (Editing by Erica Billingham)