* FTSEurofirst 300 up 1 pct; gains for 2nd session
* Hopes of Irish debt crisis solution support shares
* Automakers top gainers on General Motors IPO
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - European equities climbed for a
second straight day on Thursday on optimism that Ireland's move
to work with a EU-IMF mission on urgent steps to help its
banking sector could lead to a solution to its debt crisis.
Automakers surged as sentiment improved after General Motors
[] pulled off the biggest initial public offering in U.S.
history on Wednesday, raising $20.1 billion. []
The STOXX Europe 600 Automobiles & Parts <.SXAP> index
surged 2.4 percent, while BMW <BMWG.DE> and Fiat <FIA.MI> gained
2.6 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.
At 0933 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 1 percent at 1,103.23 points after rising
to a high of 1,103.63 earlier in the session. The index, which
closed 0.5 percent higher on Wednesday, is up 5.5 percent so far
this year, against a 26 percent jump in 2009.
A team from the European Commission, the International
Monetary Fund and European Central Bank will travel to Ireland
on Thursday to examine what measures may be needed if Dublin
decides to seek aid, euro zone finance ministers said.
[]
"It's absolutely vital for the authorities to take proactive
steps in order to try to resolve this crisis as soon as
possible. The market should see some relief in relation to
that," said Henk Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Wealth.
"Hopefully resolving this issue should be good news in terms
of helping to increase investors' risk appetite."
Irish Central Bank Governor Patrick Honohan said on Thursday
that the country was likely to end up taking a loan from the
European Union and International Monetary Fund that will run
into tens of billions of euros.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> were up 1.1 to 1.5 percent.
The Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Countries Index
<.TRXFLDPIPU> was up 2 percent.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
See the multimedia Euro Zone Crisis page on Top News:
http://r.reuters.com/hus75h
Euro zone struggles with debt graphic
http://r.reuters.com/hyb65p
Ireland's bailout graphic http://r.reuters.com/wuv48p
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MINERS ADVANCE
Miners got strength from higher metals prices. The STOXX
Europe 600 basic resources index <.SXPP> rose 1.7 percent, while
Anglo American <AAL.L> and Antofagasta <ANTO.L> rose 1.9 percent
and 2.6 percent, respectively.
Financial shares were broadly higher, with the European
banking index <.SX7P> gaining 1.4 percent, and Societe Generale
<SOGN.PA> climbing 2.8 percent. But Irish banks remained under
pressure. Allied Irish Banks <ALBK.I> was down 3 percent, and
Bank of Ireland <BKIR.I> fell 1.3 percent.
The technical picture improved after the Euro STOXX 50
<> rose 1.4 percent to 2,843.36 points to hover above
its 50-day moving average and a 61.8 percent Fibonacci
retracement of a fall from an April high to a May low.
Among individual movers, Ahold <AHLN.AS> fell 3.4 percent
after posting a smaller-than-expected 7.5 percent rise in
third-quarter profit as tough trading in its main U.S. market
offset a strong performance in the Netherlands. []
"Modestly disappointing," said Bernstein analyst Chris
Hogbin. "With food inflation returning and the macro environment
stabilising, the window of opportunity may be closing."
Brewer SABMiller <SAB.L> rose 5 percent after beating
first-half earnings forecasts and saying it expected trading in
most of its key emerging markets to steadily improve.
[]
(Additional reporting by Mark Potter; Graphics by Scott Barber
and Vincent Flasseur; Editing by Will Waterman)
