* FTSEurofirst 300 up 1 pct
* Upbeat U.S. retail sales boosts recovery hopes
* Banks rise; oil majors track higher crude prices
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - European shares rose in early
trade on Friday, rebounding from steep losses in the previous
session, as upbeat retail sales in the United States fuelled
optimism of a recovery in the world's largest economy.
By 0836 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <>
index of top shares was up 1 percent at 1,099.19 points,
recouping the previous session's losses after the index closed
0.9 percent lower on Thursday.
Banks were among the top gainers, lifted by the prospect of
a brightening economic outlook, after U.S. chains reported a
record year-over-year increase in same-store sales for March,
reflecting a boost in consumer demand. []
Barclays <BARC.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, Societe Generale
<SOGN.PA>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> and Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>
were up 0.5 to 1.7 percent.
"The economic conditions and data seem to be improving a
little bit day by day and, until that trend is broken, the trend
is your friend," said David Buik, senior partner at BGC
Partners.
Investor appetite for risk also improved. The VDAX-NEW
volatility index <.V1XI>, a measure of investor risk appetite,
was down 4.6 percent to a near three-week low. The lower the
volatility index, the more investors are willing to take on risk
in equities.
Among individual movers, Swiss flavours and fragrances maker
Givaudan <GIVN.VX> rose 5.8 percent after posting a
forecast-beating rise in first-quarter sales as consumers splash
out again on costly perfumes. []
Miners and oil majors benefitted from a rally in metals and
crude prices, which rose on the back of the strong U.S. retail
sales and on talk that China may revalue its currency soon.
Oil majors BP <BP.L>, BG <BG.L> and Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L> added 0.6 to 1.1 percent as crude prices <CLc1>
rebounded above $86 a barrel.
Miners Anglo American <AAL.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, BHP
Billiton <BLT.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L> advanced 1.1 to 1.8
percent. Gold miner Randgold Resources <RRS.L> rose 1.5 percent,
as gold prices <XAU=> hit a three-month high.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> rose 0.8 to 1.2 percent.
U.S. EARNINGS AWAITED
Investors will be looking for further evidence of economic
recovery when the corporate earnings season kicks off in the
U.S. next week. Among firms reporting first quarter earnings are
Alcoa <AA> on Monday, Intel Corp <INTC.O> on Tuesday and
JPMorgan Chase <JPM> on Wednesday.
"We've got key companies from each of the sectors reporting
figures (next week). If they're good I think it could give the
market a bit of a push," Buik said.
Data released on Friday in Europe showed a mixed picture for
the prospect of economic recovery among individual countries.
Rising exports helped boost Germany's trade surplus more
than expected in February, adding to signs Europe's largest
economy is on the path to recovery. []
Industrial output in France, however, was unchanged in
February after rising in January, underlining the challenges
still facing the euro zone's second largest economy.
[]
Meanwhile, British factory gate inflation rose in March at
its fastest pace in 16 months. The figures may make concerning
reading for the Bank of England which has forecast that consumer
price inflation will fall back below target later this year.
[]
(Editing by Mike Nesbit)
