* FTSEurofirst 300 index up 0.5 percent
* Commodity stocks gain on China inflation talk, trade data
* Weir Group, Invensys up on Siemens M&A talk
* For up-to-the minute market news, click on []
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Monday to
a 29 month high as talk of slower-than-expected Chinese
inflation data and strong China trade figures boosted sentiment,
with commodity stocks the major risers.
By 0951 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <>
index of top shares was up 0.5 percent at 1,179.51 points, its
highest level since Sept. 4 2008, extending gains from Friday
after the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down.
"The talk of the Chinese inflation data and the export and
import data is going to boost the market," Heino Ruland,
strategist at Ruland Research in Frankfurt said.
"Inflation has been the major worry and there has been a
fear of monetary overkill, but until the data is released (on
Tuesday) we could see a bit of volatility in the market."
Traders said China's consumer price index may have risen 4.9
percent in the year to January, well below the forecast of 5.3
percent, but they added it might have been the result of changes
to the weighting of the consumer price index (CPI).
Meanwhile, China's trade surplus fell, with surprisingly
strong imports highlighting the country's massive appetite for
raw materials and its solid export growth hinting at solidifying
recoveries in the U.S. and European economies. []
Mining stocks gained on the China news, tracking copper
prices <MCU3=LX> higher on hopes of continued restocking by the
world's top consumer.
The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources <.SXPP> jumped 1.4
percent, while BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and Rio
Tinto <RIO.L> were 0.7 to 1.2 percent higher.
Oils were also in demand. Galp Energia <GALP.LS> rose 3.1
percent, adding to the gains made in the previous session when
it reported profits at the high end of forecasts.
John Wood Group <WG.L> jumped 13.8 percent after the energy
services group agrees to sell its well support division to
General Electric <GE.N> for $2.8 billion. []
INVENSYS, WEIR RISES ON M&A TALK
Invensys <ISYS.L> and Weir Group <WEIR.L> rose 4.7 percent
and 5 percent, respectively, as traders cited takeover
speculation after Siemens' <SIEGn.DE> chief financial officer
told the Financial Times it is looking for large-scale
acquisitions.
"Invensys is an old target," said one trader.
"Bid rumour that Siemens coming in for them," another trader
said, referring to both Weir and Invensys.
Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> gained 3.5 percent after the Swiss
bank said it will issue 6 billion Swiss francs ($6.2 billion) of
contingent convertible capital bonds in a move to satisfy
stricter capital rules. []
On the downside, Nokia <NOK1V.HE> fell 3.1 percent,
extending its drop from the previous session, with JP Morgan
downgrading the stock to "underweight" from "overweight".
In other news, European finance ministers will discuss how
to give their euro zone rescue fund more flexibility and
firepower and how to tackle debt crises after 2013, but final
decisions are unlikely before March. []
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was 0.1 percent
higher, Germany's DAX <> was up 0.4 percent and France's
CAC 40 <> gained 0.3 percent.
(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Hans Peters)
