* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.4 pct; fourth session of gains
* Heineken hits 34-mth high on above-forecast results
* Banks higher; SocGen leads gains after results
* For up-to-the minute market news, click on []
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Wednesday
as forecast beating results from Heineken <HEIN.AS> lifted peers
in the beverage sector, adding to optimism about the outlook for
corporate earnings in the region.
By 0952 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <>
index of top shares was up 0.4 percent at 1,185.22 points,
extending the rally into the fourth straight session after
hitting a fresh 29-month closing high a day earlier.
"There is a growing confidence in the outlook for the global
economy. The recovery looks like it is being transformed into a
sustainable expansion and that does mean that the outlook for
earnings is very positive," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist
at Brewin Dolphin.
The STOXX Europe 600 food and beverage index <.SX3P> rose
0.5 percent, lifted by a 4.4 percent gain in Heineken as cost
savings helped the world's third-largest brewer beat market
forecasts for 2010 earnings. []
Upbeat earnings also helped lift banks as Societe Generale
<SOGN.PA> shook off early falls to gain 4.2 percent after it
reported a quadrupling of fourth-quarter profit and said it
would stick to its 2012 profit target of 6 billion euros.
[]
"Despite a valuation that we still see as supportive... we
think that they (SocGen shares) look vulnerable to some profit
taking given the divisional mix of positives and negatives,"
Nomura analysts wrote in a note.
Within the sector, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> which reports
earnings on Thursday, climbed 3 percent while HSBC <HSBA.L> and
Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> added 1.7 and 2.2 percent.
SANOFI GAINS
Helping cement expectations of a pickup in merger and
acquisition (M&A) activity, French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis
<SASY.PA> rose 3.6 percent after it agreed to buy Genzyme Corp
<GENZ.O> for $20.1 billion in cash, plus payments tied to the
success of the U.S. biotech group's drugs. []
M&A activity also took hold in the chemicals sector, as
Swiss specialty chemicals maker Clariant <CLN.VX> clinched
control of Germany's Sued-Chemie <SUCG.DE> in a deal with an
enterprise value of 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion). Clariant
fell 10.5 percent. []
Other fallers include Novo Nordisk <NOVOb.CO> which shed 1.3
percent after saying it received a subpoena in the U.S.
regarding potential criminal offences relating to marketing
practices for a number of its products. []
BHP Billiton <BLT.L> fell 1.2 percent as the world's biggest
miner said it plans to pour $80 billion into expansions over the
next five years rather than chase ambitious takeovers, after
nearly doubling first-half profit. []
On the economic front, investors are expected to focus on
the Bank of England's Inflation Report, due at 1030 GMT, for an
indication of the central bank's plans to tackle inflation that
is currently running at double its 2 percent target.
"Market expectations now are for interest rates to go up and
that is what the quarterly report will endorse. A change needs
to come and the BoE is warming the market up to that," Brewin
Dolphin's Lenhoff said.
"Bond yields have been rising for a while now ... but equity
markets are just marking time as investors are quite comfortable
with the background which is supportive to earnings."
The FTSEurofirst 300 has rebounded almost 84 percent since
hitting a lifetime low in March, 2009 and is up 5.6 percent
since January.
Equity valuations remain relatively low, with the STOXX
Europe 600 <> carrying a forward P/E ratio of 11, below a
10-year average of 13.7, Thomson Reuters Datastream showed.
(Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
