Buoyant miners help Europe stocks extend rally

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.5 pct, adds to Tuesday's rebound
                                
 * Rising metal prices, record gold boost mining stocks
                                
 * Banking shares dip; ING drops 3 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]
                                
 
                                
 By Blaise Robinson
                                
 PARIS, Dec 2 (Reuters) - European stocks ended higher on
Wednesday, adding to the previous session's rally, after data
showed U.S. employers shed fewer jobs last month than in
October, lifting sentiment ahead of Friday's key jobs data.
                                
 The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares
closed 0.5 percent higher at 1,015.77 points. The index, which
fell sharply last week on concerns over Dubai's debt woes,
jumped back on Tuesday, gaining 2.6 percent as the worries
receded.
                                
 "Fears over Dubai's debt proved groundless. It turned out to
be a good opportunity to book recent gains, before the market
rises again," said Marc Touati, general manager and head of
research at Global Equities, in Paris.
                                
 "We're done with negative surprises. This rally is built on
sound macro foundations, and even though the jobs market will
take time to recover, at least the pace of jobs destruction is
slowing down."
                                
 U.S. private companies shed 169,000 jobs last month, fewer
than the 195,000 jobs lost in October, suggesting some
stabilisation in the labour market, according to the ADP
Employer Services report. [ID:nN02192113]
                                
 The ADP data is seen as a proxy for the U.S. government's
closely-watched report on nonfarm payrolls, due on Friday.
                                
 Analysts polled recently by Reuters projected U.S. payrolls
likely shrank by 130,000 in November, compared with a 190,000
decline in October.
                                
 Mining shares were among the top gainers on Wednesday, on
burgeoning metal prices such as gold, which rose to record highs
well above $1,200 an ounce, propelled by heavy buying by hedge
funds and other gold investment products.
                                
 Rio Tinto <RIO.L> added 2.6 percent, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>
gained 1 percent, and Xstrata <XTA.L> rose 1.1 percent.
                                
 But gains on the market were limited by retreating banking
shares, with BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> down 1.3 percent and Deutsche
Bank <DBKGn.DE> down 1.4 percent, while ING <ING.AS> dropped 3
percent as shareholders sold some of their rights <ING_r.AS> in
the Dutch bank and insurer, traders said.
                                
 The DJ STOXX banking index <.SX7P> has dropped 7 percent
since reaching a peak in mid October while the broader DJ STOXX
600 <.STOXX> has lost about 1.5 percent over the same period.
Defensive sectors such as telecoms, pharmas and utilities have
outperfomed.
                                
 Around Europe, UK's FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> gained 0.3
percent, Germany's DAX index <.GDAXI> rose 0.1 percent, and
France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> added 0.5 percent.
                                
 LVMH <LVMH.PA> gained 2.9 percent, rising along with other
retail shares and after RBS upgraded its rating on the stock to
"hold" from "sell", describing the luxury goods firm as a "safer
haven in still rough waters".
                                
 RBS analysts said LVMH will benefit from exposure to China
via its Louis Vuitton and Hennessy brands, as well as Parfums
Christian Dior.
 (Reporting by Blaise Robinson, editing by Atul Prakash and Hans
Peters)
 ((blaise.robinson@reuters.com ; +33 1 4949 5269, Reuters
Messaging: blaise.robinson.reuters.com@reuters.net))