* FTSEurofirst 300 rises 0.3 pct after falls on Thursday
* Strong company results support; RBS rises 2.6 percent
* Investors await U.S. non-farm payrolls figures
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - European shares bounced back in
early trade on Friday, with robust results from more companies
prompting investors to buy equities ahead of keenly-watched U.S.
non-farm U.S. payrolls figures later in the session.
At 0825 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 0.3 percent at 1,071.93 points after
rising to a high of 1,076.14. The index closed 0.2 percent lower
in the previous session.
The market was supported by strong company results. Royal
Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> rose 2.6 percent as lower impairment
losses helped its second quarter operating profit rise from the
first quarter, and the part-nationalised group expected good
medium-term prospects for its business. []
Europe's biggest insurer, Allianz <ALVG.DE>, joined a slew
of insurers reporting improving sales from consumers seeking
investment-oriented products as memories of the financial crisis
fade. Its shares rose 0.8 percent. []
Other financial stocks also gained, with Standard Chartered
<STAN.L>, Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>, Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA>
and Natixis <CNAT.PA> rising 1.2 to 3.5 percent.
"Corporate earnings have been very strong so far and that's
likely to continue. One area that is likely to rebound very
strongly is the agricultural sector, particularly with the news
of Russia's ban on grain exports" said Richard Greenwood, fund
manager at Bedlam Asset Management.
Russia stunned global grains markets on Thursday by saying
it would ban grain exports Aug.15 to Dec.31, a move applying to
contracts already signed after the worst heatwave on record
ravaged the country's harvest. []
The news was not good for companies such as Danish brewer
Carlsberg <CARLb.CO>, which fell 3.2 percent on concerns about
grain prices. The STOXX Europe food and beverages index <.SX3P>
fell 1.1 percent.
FOCUS ON JOBS DATA
Investors awaited the U.S. Labor Department's employment
report, due at 1230 GMT. A survey of 75 economists forecast
nonfarm payrolls dropped 65,000 after declining 125,000 in June.
Private-sector hiring, considered a better gauge of labor market
health, is seen rising 90,000 after increasing 83,000 in June.
"The U.S. data is very important. If the market reacts
positively and closes near a new high this week, then we have a
very good chance to go higher," said Giuseppe-Guido Amato,
strategist at Lang & Schwarz in Frankfurt.
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Graphic on U.S. non-farm payrolls preview:
http://r.reuters.com/nah53n
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Investors stayed cautious after news that Chinese regulators
have called for stress tests on loans to a range of industries,
including cement and steel, whose fortunes are closely tied to
property markets on the brink of a correction. []
The tests, part of a broader investigation into banks'
ability to withstand falls in housing prices, point to the
governments' determination to hold tightening policies in place
until the property sector cools off.
Analysts said there were concerns that the government might
announce more tightening if property prices remained high.
Further tightening in China, the world's third-largest economy,
could affect global economic recovery.
The Euro STOXX 50 <>, the euro zone's blue-chip
index, was up 0.3 percent to 2,828.68 points. It hovered just
above its 200-day moving average and the 61.8 percent Fibonacci
retracement of the index's fall from an April high to a May low,
generally a positive signal.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX <>
and France's CAC 40 <> rose 0.2 to 0.4 percent. The Thomson
Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Countries Index <.TRXFLDPIPU> was up
0.5 percent.
(Editing by Mike Nesbit)
