* FTSEurofirst 300 rise 1.1 pct
* Banks surge on strong results from Goldman
* Miners up, oils down; track commodity prices
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - European equities climbed on
Tuesday after trade resumed following the Easter break, with
banks gaining ground after strong earnings from Goldman Sachs
<GS.N> and miners tracking firmer metals prices.
At 0821 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares rose 1.1 percent to 786.53 points after closing
2.1 percent higher on Thursday. The index recorded its fifth
weekly gain in a row last week, which was shortened by the Good
Friday holiday.
European banks <.SX7P> jumped 5.4 percent to a 3-month
high, about 78 percent above their March low, as Goldman's
better-than-expected first-quarter profit added to confidence
the sector may be through the worst, analysts said.
Goldman's strong results on Monday came after Wells Fargo
<WFC.N> said last week that it expected to post a record $3
billion first-quarter profit.
Barclays <BARC.L> spiked 16 percent, also helped by a
weekend report it would listen to offers for its asset
management arm BGI after its sale of iShares on Thursday
[].
Lloyds <LLOY.L> was up 8.9 percent, Natixis <CNAT.PA> rose
11.8 percent, Commerzbank <CBKG.DE> gained 11.3 percent and
Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> was up 7.6 percent.
"The financials were the main reason behind the last twelve
months of pain, so it is only right that investors look to these
heavyweights to lead us back up," said Chris Hossain, senior
sales manager at ODL Securities.
Miners got strength from higher metals prices, with copper
rising 2 percent, nickel up 5 percent and zinc gaining 1.7
percent. BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>,
Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Xstrata <STA.L> and
Eurasian Natural Resources <ENRC.L> rose 3.2-7.9 percent.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> were 0.5-0.7 percent
higher.
CAUTIOUS APPROACH
Some analysts remained cautious in spite of a rally in
financial stocks, saying more corporate results in Europe in the
coming weeks would set the near-term market tone.
"The Goldman figures are remarkably good but bank results
are mercurial and you have to pick through them carefully. It's
not going to be pretty reading on the corporate results front
this quarter," said Justin Urquhart Stewart, finance director at
Seven Investment Management.
"I would expect a couple of quarters of negative news until
people start rebuilding inventories. Bad news on results should
not come as a surprise but it will be used as an excuse to mark
down shares," he said.
Philips' <PHG.AS> results on Tuesday reminded investors that
the earnings season was expected to remain uncertain. The
company said it would accelerate restructuring measures in the
second quarter after its first-quarter numbers missed
expectations.
Political risk also resurfaced with North Korea saying it
was no longer bound by an international nuclear disarmament deal
and would re-start its plant that makes weapons-grade plutonium
after the United Nations chastised it for launching a long range
rocket.
Energy stocks were under pressure as crude oil prices <CLc1>
fell 1 percent. BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSb.L>, BG Group
<BG.L>, Tullow Oil <TLW.L>, Repsol <REP.MC> and Total <TOTF.PA>
shed between 0.6 and 2.3 percent.
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> said it was holding discussions
with Chinese state oil firms to jointly bid for oil projects in
Iraq. The oil major has said it wants to expand its presence in
the vast fuel retail and refining businesses in China.
Royal Dutch shares were down 0.9 percent.
Investors awaited U.S. retail sales and producer price data,
due at 1230 GMT, that may shed further light on the state of the
world's biggest economy.
(Additional reporting by Sitaraman Shankar; editing by Simon
Jessop)
