* FTSEurofirst 300 index <> at 6-week highs
* Autos benefit from firm dollar
* Oils gain on earlier rise in crude prices
By Amanda Cooper
LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - European shares hit a six-week closing high on
Monday as the euro boosted export-sensitive stocks such as carmakers, while
fighting between Russia and Georgia gave early support to oil prices and helped
the energy sector.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index <> of top European shares closed up 1.2
percent at 1,212.92 points, having hit an intra-day high of 1,213.42 points, its
highest since June 26.
Oil <CLc1> eased to below $114 after the European market close, having risen
earlier by as much as 1.5 percent, as the conflict between Russia and Georgia
disrupted some Caspian shipments. This pushed BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L>, ENI <ENI.MI> and Total <TOTF.PA> up by 1.1-2.2 percent.
But some analysts said softer oil prices would only act as a temporary
pillar of support for the broader equities market, given the likelihood of a
further slowing in economic growth in Europe and the uncertainty over the extent
of the impact of the credit crunch on the financial sector.
"The backdrop is still very negative and the outlook for the oil price is
positive," said Andrea Williams, head of European equities at Royal London Asset
Management.
"Generally, if you look at where earnings numbers have come out, we haven't
had the massive downgrades that people thought, particularly on the financial
side. We've still got ING and UBS to go but certainly, the worst is through for
writedowns, so it is more an issue of credit market deterioration," she said.
The euro rallied from the lows for the day against the dollar, but its fall
to near-six month lows earlier gave the automotive sector a boost.
"A weaker euro/stronger dollar would be a welcome source of relief for a
beleaguered auto sector," Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients.
"We highlight BMW as the most exposed to the dollar as a percentage of
profit and with the most shallow hedging policy currently in place, creating the
potential for more relief in 2009," the investment bank added.
The DJ Stoxx index of European auto stocks <.SXAP> was up 2.8 percent with
BMW <BMWG.DE> up 4.5 percent, Porsche <PSHG_p.DE> up 5 percent and Peugeot
<PEUP.PA> up 2.9 percent.
Daimler <DAIGn.DE>, which gained 2.4 percent, also rallied after a report
said Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) was interested in buying a large
stake in the car maker. Daimler declined to comment on the report.
BANKS BOUNCE
Other gainers included financial stocks, led by a 5.4-percent gain in Swiss
bank UBS <UBSN.VX> after the company said the cost for a buyback of debt
securities would not exceed $900 million. UBS reports second-quarter earnings on
Tuesday.
French bank Natixis <CNAT.PA> rallied nearly 20 percent, as traders cited
talk of short-covering in the stock and possible sovereign wealth fund interest.
Natixis declined to comment on the share price rise.
Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> was up 3.5 percent, while UniCredit <CRDI.MI>
rose 0.7 percent and Banco Santander <SAN.MC> gained 2.6 percent.
Merger activity had a muted effect on the mining sector, where Kazakhmys
<KAZ.L> raised its stake in rival Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) to above 25
percent and Xstrata <XTA.L> looked to raise more than 5 billion pounds to forge
ahead with a hostile bid for platinum miner Lonmin <LMI.L>.
Kazakhmys fell 1.1 percent, Xstrata lost 1.3 percent and Lonmin dropped 0.6
percent, while ENRC <ENRC.L> shed 5.7 percent after Kazakhmys said it had no
immediate plans for a bid.
Britain's FTSE 100 <> was up 1 percent, Germany's DAX <> rose 0.7
percent and France's CAC <> gained 1 percent.
(Additional reporting by Eva Kuehnen in Frankfurt; Editing by Paul Bolding)
