* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.9 pct after Friday's 3-month lows
* Commodity shares in demand as crude, metals prices gain
* Financials recover after 6 percent decline last week
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - European equities rebounded on
Monday from three-month lows in the previous session, with
stronger commodity prices boosting energy and mining shares and
financials recovering after slipping 6 percent last week.
At 0852 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 0.9 percent at 980.91 points after
falling for three straight sessions and closing 2.1 percent
lower on Friday.
The index fell 3.9 percent last week, its biggest weekly
decline in 11 months, but is still up 52 percent from a record
low in March last year.
"It's a technical bounce. There are still some people who
are thinking that this is a good time to buy. You can't forget
that a lot of people just missed the rally," said Koen De Leus,
economist at KBC Securities.
"But the market is struggling. It seems the market doesn't
believe anymore that deficits in the eurozone are sustainable.
All the good news is already in the market and it still can go
down by 10 to 20 percent."
Banks were among the top gainers, with HSBC <HSBA.L>,
Barclays <BARC.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Societe Generale
<SOGN.PA>, Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA> and Natixis <CNAT.PA> up
0.6 to 1.9 percent.
Financial services group Dexia <DEXI.BR> jumped 7.3 percent.
On Friday, the French-Belgian bancassurer pledged to cut its
balance sheet by 35 percent by 2014 from the 2008 level as part
of a restructuring deal with the European Union. []
Over the weekend, European finance ministers tried to assure
their counterparts in the G7 that the eurozone's debt crisis is
under control. They said they would make sure that Greece sticks
with its budget cutting plans.[]
But the euro and growth-linked currencies fell as investors
unwound trades amid growing worries about eurozone's debt
problems, dismissing assurances from the ministers.
COMMODITIES SHINE
Energy shares gained after oil prices <CLc1> reversed some
of last week's losses and rose from a seven-week low to near $72
a barrel, spurred by bargain-hunting and hopes for a cold front
in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region to boost fuel demand.
BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, Tullow Oil <TLW.L>,
Repsol <REP.MC>, Total <TOTF.PA> and StatoilHydro <STL.OL> added
0.3 to 1.3 percent.
Miners got strength from higher metals prices, with copper
<MCU3> jumping 2.1 percent, aluminium <MAL3> up 1 percent and
zinc <MZN3> rising 3.2 percent.
BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and Eurasian Natural Resources
<ENRC.L> rose 1.8 to 2.9 percent.
Xstrata <XTA.L> rose 4.4 percent as it reinstated dividends
citing an encouraging outlook for commodities demand in the
medium term after posting an expected 41 percent fall in 2009
profit on weaker metals prices. []
West African-focused gold miner Randgold Resources <RRS.L>
gained 6 percent after it said its full-year profit jumped 79
percent and it brought forward the expected start up of
production from the Kibali project to January 2014.
On the weaker side, SAP AG <SAPG.DE> fell 0.8 percent after
an abrupt resignation of its chief executive Leo Apotheker as
the market sought direction on where the world's largest
business-software company is headed. []
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index <>, Germany's
DAX <> and France's CAC 40 <> were 0.8 to 1.2 percent
higher.
(Editing by Sharon Lindores)
