* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.3 pct after Thursday's sharp fall
* Energy shares track stronger crude oil prices
* Financial shares slide for second day in a row
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - European equities drifted higher
in early trading on Friday, with stronger energy shares on the
back of firmer crude oil prices outpacing weaker financials.
At 0818 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 0.3 percent at 1,021.16 points. It
slipped 1.3 percent in the previous session after five straight
sessions of gains.
The index, which is up 23 percent so far in 2009, has gained
58 percent since hitting a record low in early March.
Energy shares gained ground after crude oil <CLc1> rose 0.8
percent, underpinned by signs of a gradual recovery in the
United States and the prospect of increased winter demand.
BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, BG Group <BG.L>,
Tullow Oil <TLW.L>, Repsol <REP.MC> and Total <TOTF.PA> added
0.1 to 1.5 percent.
But banks continued their decline after sharply falling in
the previous session on concerns over tough new Basel
regulations and Citigroup's <C.N> equity offering getting a cool
response.
Standard Chartered <STAN.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, Barclays
<BARC.L>, Lloyds <LLOY.L>, Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, BNP
Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>, Credit Agricole
<CAGR.PA> and Natixis <CNAT.PA> fell 0.6 to 5.2 percent.
"Most of the people are getting cautious. Everybody is
closing the books. They say 'OK, we had a great year so why do
we have to risk more?'," said Koen De Leus, economist at KBC
Securities.
"We are at the end of the year so volumes are not going to
be very high," he added.
Drugmakers were also in demand. AstraZeneca <AZN.L>,
GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>, Merck <MRCG.DE>, Novartis <NOVN.VX>,
Novo Nordisk <NOVOb.CO>, Roche Holding <ROG.VX> and
Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> rose 0.1 to 2.2 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index <>, Germany's
DAX <> and France's CAC 40 <> were 0.1 to 0.6 percent
higher.
MACRO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS MIXED
Macro-economic indicators were mixed, with German business
sentiment rising in December, hitting its highest level since
July 2008. The Munich-based Ifo think tank said its business
climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms,
rose to 94.7 from 93.9 in November. []
But a survey showed that French company bosses were less
confident about their prospects in December, adding to signs
that the economic recovery is fragile. []
The Bank of England said Britain's financial sector looks
in much better shape than it did six months ago and urged banks
to take advantage of current funding conditions to shore up
their balance sheets. []
Among individual movers, German chipmaker Infineon
<IFXGn.DE> rose 3.1 percent after JPMorgan hiked its target
price in the company.
Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair <RYA.I> was up 4.1 percent.
It said it had ended talks with Boeing <BA.N> on an order for
200 aircraft order after a disagreement on contractual terms,
and it was to slow investment in 2011 and 2012.
French communications company Iliad <ILD.PA> rose 3.3
percent after winning France's fourth mobile phone licence,
paving the way for more competition and lower prices for
consumers in Europe's third-largest telecom market.
[]
(Editing by Hans Peters)
