* FTSEurofirst 300 up 1.6 pct, up after 4 days of losses
* Commodities gain tracking crude oil, metal prices
* Cadbury gains on bid battle speculation
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - European equities rose in early
trade on Monday, snapping a four-day losing streak, with
commodity stocks boosted by higher growth prospects in China and
firmer crude <CLc1> and metal prices.
By 1000 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <>
index of top shares was up 1.5 percent at 1,018.01 points. The
index has gained 57 percent since falling to a record low in
early March and is up 22 percent for the year.
"I think the market has got off to a very good start. What
you have got is a key Asian Pacific economy saying its growth is
going to accelerate, which is good news for the global economy,"
said Mike Lenhoff, strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
"And you have a member of the Federal Reserve saying that we
have got to do our upmost to get out of this mess. If they are
thinking of extending their mortgage-related assets purchase
programme, then it must be they are going to keep interest rates
low for a very long period of time.
Senior U.S. Federal Reserve official James Bullard said the
central bank should keep alive its mortgage-related assets
purchase programme beyond a planned end-date to give
policy-makers more flexibility as they help the economy recover
from a painful recession. []
And a government researcher said China's annual economic
growth will reach 10 percent this quarter and grow even faster
in the first quarter of 2010. []
Energy stocks were in demand as crude prices rose 1.2
percent. Heritage Oil <HOIL.L> was up 1 percent after selling
its Ugandan interests to Italy's Eni <ENI.MI>, while BG Group
<BG.L>, BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and Total
<TOTF.PA> were 1.2 to 1.9 percent firmer.
MINERS IN DEMAND
Miners featured among the top performers as metal prices
gained. Copper <MCU3=LX> was up 1.6 percent, aluminium <MAL3=LX>
was 0.3 percent higher and nickel <MNI3=LX> rose 1.4 percent.
Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, BHP Billiton
<BLT.L>, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation <ENRC.L>, Rio
Tinto <RIO.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L> were 2.4 to 4 percent higher.
"Asian shares were mostly firmer and gold has hit another
record high. The markets on balance have had good earnings and
economic data and in general have no excuses to move lower,"
said Bernard McAlinden, strategist at NCB Stockbrokers.
Banks added the most points to the index. HSBC <HSBA.L>,
Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> and Barclays
<BARC.L> were up 2.6 to 4.8 percent.
Cadbury <CBRY.L> shares gained 1.9 percent on speculation of
a battle for the British confectioner between bidder Kraft Foods
Inc <KFT.N> and rivals who are considering making takeover
offers, analysts said. []
In economic news, the euro zone's dominant service sector
grew at its fastest pace in two years in November suggesting an
economic recovery will continue in the fourth quarter.
[]
Later in the session, investors will look at U.S. existing
home sales for October at 1500 GMT. Economists in a Reuters
survey forecast a 5.7 million annualized unit total versus 5.57
million annualized units in September.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> were all around 1.7 percent
higher.
(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Mike Nesbit)
((joanne.frearson@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 2773,
Reuters
Messaging:joanne.frearson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
