* FTSEurofirst 300 closes 0.2 pct higher
* Sanofi Aventis rises after U.S. contract
* Porsche falls 3.1 pct, receives loan
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Monday
with Sanofi Aventis leading pharmaceuticals higher after winning
a U.S. contract, and some analysts choosing to interpret a
leading German economic survey positively.
But trade was thin with UK markets closed for a holiday.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
rose 0.2 percent to 857.71 points, after two days of losses.
Weaker-than-expected readings of the German business sector
suggested that the nation's firms continue to struggle.
Germany's Ifo said that its business climate index came in
at 84.2, lower than forecasts for 85.0.
The reading for current conditions was 82.5, also lower than
expectations for 84.0.
However, the expectations index came in at 85.9, higher than
forecasts for 85.5 [].
"The thing we can highlight today was the expectations from
the Ifo index were up for the fifth consecutive month, and this
shows the trend of improving economic sentiment is intact," said
Tammo Greetfeld, equity strategist at Unicredit Group in Munich.
"But with the United States and UK closed, it's a very quiet
day."
Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> rose 1.6 percent higher after it won
an order from the U.S. government to produce a new influenza
vaccine []
Roche <ROG.VX> rose 1.6 percent, helping to make
Switzerland's benchmark SSMI <>, one of the strongest
performers, up 0.7 percent, also helped by gains for Nestle
<NESN.VX> and UBS <UBSN.VX> of 1.4 and 1.1 percent respectively.
The drugmaker said that new two-year data showed the
effectiveness of its Actemra drug in inhibiting structural
damage to the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
[]
But Porsche <PSHG_p.DE> fell 3.1 percent after the company
confirmed media reports that it received a 700 million euro
($979.7 million) loan from Volkswagen <VOWG.DE> to help with its
finances.
U.S. markets were also closed on Monday for the Memorial Day
holiday. However, futures for the Dow Jones <DJc1> and S&P 500
<SPc1>, which were lower earlier in the session, gained and were
marginally higher as European bourses were closing.
DEUTSCHE BANK FALLS
Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> ended 1 percent lower. Germany's
largest bank and German financial watchdog BaFin have launched
investigations into a possible security breach at the lender,
Deutsche Bank said on Friday. []
Arcandor <AROG.DE>, the German retail and tourism group, shed
19.6 percent after its CEO Karl-Gerhard Eick and Chairman
Friedrich-Carl Janssen reiterated the need for state aid to
ensure the survival of the company, in interviews with
Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung and Der Spiegel.
Across Europe, Germany's DAX <> fell 0.01 percent and
France's CAC <> rose 0.3 percent.
In Japan, the government raised its assessment of the
economy for the first time in three years on Monday, saying the
pace of worsening is slowing as exports and industrial output
are nearing bottom. []
The pan-European index, up 3.1 percent in 2009, is up 32.9
percent from a record low on March 9, as investors have become
more confident of the prospects for an economic recovery.
Crude prices <CLc1> slipped 0.7 percent to $61.25 a barrel,
still relatively close to their highest in six months.
"The environment that brought equities up to the present
level is fully intact, especially if you look at indicators like
commodity prices."
(Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by **)
