* FTSEurofirst 300 index up 0.5 pct
* Energy stocks rise as crude rebouds
* Imperial Tobacco slips
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - European shares were higher on
Tuesday in a choppy session with energy stocks gaining as crude
<CLc1> prices rebounded, while banking shares were in the
doldrums.
By 0839 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <>
index was up 0.5 percent at 859.15 points, having been as low as
847.25 points earlier.
"The market has been up and down today. There is
indecisiveness ... we had the strongest April month ever so
people are wondering what is going to happen next," said
Philippe Gijsels, senior equity strategist at Fortis Banks.
"While things are still bad they are slightly improving so
that is what the market is holding onto, the fact that earnings
season, even though it was poor, was better than people
expected," said Gijsels.
On the upside, energy stocks were in demand as crude gained
0.9 percent. BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and Total
<TOTF.PA> were up 0.2-1.6 percent.
However, Tullow Oil <TLW.L> fell 0.6 percent as it said gas
production performance in the UK had been marginally below
expectations even though it said it performed strongly so far in
2009 and that, overall, its performance is in line with
expectations.
Car makers were among the best performers. France's Renault
<RENA.PA> was up 5.6 percent after Carlos Ghosn, chief executive
of both Nissan and Renault, said there were signs of improved
access to credit and a gradual return to consumer confidence.
[]
Volkswagen <VOWG.DE> gained 6.3 percent after the chairman
of VW said it should play the leading role in any merger with
Porsche SE <PSHG_p.DE>. [] Porsche was down 4.2
percent.
Fiat <FIA.MI> was 3.6 percent higher after General Motors
<GM.N> said it was interested in keeping a minority stake in its
restructured European operations and plans to have a framework
for a deal to sell the unit by the end of the month.
IMPERIAL TOBACCO SLIPS
Britain's InterContinental Hotels Group Plc <IHG.L>, the
world's biggest hotelier, rose 4.5 percent after it met
forecasts with a 44 percent drop in first-quarter profit and
said it was outperforming rivals in a tough market.
[]
Banks were the main drag on the index. Banco Santander
<SAN.MC>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> and Deutsche Bank
<DBKGn.DE> were down 0.7-1.9 percent.
"Financials led the market down last night in the U.S. The
concern there is that rights issues will be on their way to
repair balance sheets and pay back preference shares to
governments," said Bernard McAlinden, market strategist at NCB
Stockbrokers.
"The worry is that the rights issues may flood the market
with supply and push it lower," he said.
Imperial Tobacco <IMT.L> shares dipped 4.5 percent after the
cigarette group signaled that it is likely to moderate its
dividend payout due to the cost of restructuring at its recent
acquisition of Altadis.
Airbus parent EADS <EAD.PA> slipped 5.6 percent after it
posted a 70 percent slide in first-quarter operating profit
after a new charge for its delayed A400M airlifter and cut its
forecast for civil plane orders as airlines combat recession.
[]
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was up 0.3
percent, Germany's DAX <> was 1 percent higher and
France's CAC 40 <> was up 0.6 percent.
(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; editing by Simon Jessop)
