* FTSEurofirst 300 index up 1 pct at 905.96 points
* Banks boosted by Deutsche Bank results
* Miners up on rising metals prices
* Elan slumps on safety worries over key drug
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - European shares extend their
rally into a third day on Thursday, as financials were boosted
by strong Deutsche Bank <DBGKn.DE> results and miners tracked a
rise in commodities as the dollar weakened.
At 0956 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of leading
European shares was up 1 percent at 905.96 points, having surged
7.5 percent on Wednesday.
It is still down nearly 40 percent in 2008, battered by a
global credit crisis and the resulting economic slowdown.
The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.5
percentage points on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei index <>
closed up 10 percent on Thursday on talk of a likely rate cut.
"This is a fantastic rally, but it is only a rally. It's
like the Grand Old Duke of York. We've marched up the hill, but
we'll probably march down, or maybe fall down just as quick,"
said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment
Management.
"The rate cuts are encouraging. But we're dealing with a
slump. It's not a matter of whether it's bad. It's a matter of
how bad."
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC-40 <> were 0.4-1.4 percent
higher.
Deutsche Bank jumped 17 percent as investors cheered
surprisingly strong third-quarter net profit from Germany's
largest bank, as well as indications it will not have to raise
capital in the near term.
Banks added most to the index. Commerzbank <CBKG.DE> and UBS
<UBSN.VX> were up 7.8 and 3.1 percent, respectively.
MINERS GAIN
A weaker dollar boosted metals prices, pushing miners Anglo
American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>,
Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L> up between 3.8 and 7.7
percent.
Crude <CLc1> rose 2.2 percent to $68.95 a barrel, but oil
stocks fell. BP <BP.L> was down 1 percent, having closed at an
eight-week high on Wednesday. Total <TOTF.PA> and ENI <ENI.MI>
were down 2.7 percent.
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> fell 2 percent, despite beating
all forecasts with third-quarter current cost of supply (CCS)
net profit up 71 percent at $10.9 billion. High oil prices and
asset sales outweighed a 7 percent drop in its oil and gas
production.
Among a raft of other companies reporting results, consumer
goods giant Unilever <ULVR.L> was up 2 percent after posting a
rise in third-quarter underlying sales at the top end of
forecasts and upgrading its 2008 sales outlook.
Insurer Standard Life <SL.L> was down 5.4 percent after it
said sales were flat for the first nine months of 2008.
Irish drugmaker Elan <ELN.I> was 18 percent lower, having
fallen 48 percent earlier. Its marketing partner Biogen Idec
<BIIB.O> said on Wednesday it had notified regulators of a new
case of a potentially deadly brain disease in a multiple
sclerosis patient being treated with Elan's Tysabri product.
Wall Street is set for a stronger open, with futures for the
Dow Jones <DJc1>, S&P 500 <SPc1> and Nasdaq <NDc1> up 2.3 to 2.7
percent.
(Reporting by Brian Gorman, editing by Will Waterman)
