* FTSEurofirst 300 index rises 0.1 percent
* Airlines, banks, miners slip
* SKF gains as results beat expectations
* For up-to-the minute market news, click on []
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - European shares ticked higher
on Friday ahead of results from Bank of America <BAC.N> and
General Electric <GE.N> as industrials gained after strong SKF
<SKFb.ST> results, though miners fell on weaker gold prices.
By 0905 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 0.1 percent at 1,113.47 points. The index
has risen 72 percent since reaching a lifetime low in early
March 2009 and is on track to post its seventh straight week of
gains.
"The market has had a strong run and is running out of steam
and Google's <GOOG.O> earnings disappointed after the market's
close," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB
Stockbrokers.
"Today is bellwether General Electric's results. Investors
will be looking for earnings that meet or exceed expectations
and looking to see if topline growth is there."
Investors were also cautious as the huge ash cloud from an
Icelandic volcano caused air travel chaos across northern Europe
and beyond with airports in the UK, France and Germany closed,
leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded.
Airline stocks fell, with Lufthansa <LHAG.DE>, British
Airways <BAY.L>, Air Berlin <AB1.DE>, Air France-KLM <AIRF.PA>,
Iberia <IBLA.MC> and Ryanair <RYA.I> down 1.4 to 1.9 percent.
Budget airline easyJet <EZJ.L>, however, added 0.3 percent
after BofA Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to "buy" from
"neutral" on improving revenue trends.
However, the market got a boost after SKF, the world's
biggest bearing maker, surged 7.5 percent as it reported
better-than-expected first-quarter results. It's peer
engineering group Sandvik <SAND.ST> gained 5.8 percent.
MINERS SLIP
Miners extended falls on Thursday as gold <XAU=> dipped
after speculators booked profits from this week's rally to a
four-month high.
Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Eurasian Natural
Resources Corporation <ENRC.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and Xstrata
<XTA.L> fell 0.7 to 1.4 percent.
Banking stocks recovered from earlier falls to feature among
the top risers. Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> gained 7 percent
after BofA Merrill Lynch hiked its price target and said the
shares could double on a two-year view.
Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX>, Barclays <BARC.L> and Lloyds
Banking Group <LLOY.L> rose 1 to 2 percent.
Among individual stocks, Carrefour <CARR.PA> gained 2.4
percent after it posted its first rise in underlying quarterly
sales for 18 months and unveiled a 1.6 billion euro share
buyback to reflect confidence in its recovery plan.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was up 0.04
percent, Germany's DAX <> edged 0.02 percent higher and
France's CAC 40 <> gained 0.2 percent.
(Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
