* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.5 percent
* BP down 4 percent after results disappoint
* For the latest stocks news, click on []
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - European shares edged higher on
Tuesday morning, extending a winning run to three days, with
miners up after Australia left interest rates unchanged but with
BP leading oil companies lower after its results disappointed.
At 1005 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 0.5 percent at 1,022.86 points, having
moved in and out of positive territory.
The index rose 1.6 percent in the previous two sessions and
is up 58 percent from its lifetime low of March 9. It fell 3.2
percent in January, hit by worries over tougher banking
regulations and Greece's deficit.
"Those worries are still there, but they are very much in
the price," said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven
Investment Management.
"What we are likely to see now is a nice healthy dose of
euro fudge, where we are able to sort out Greece. It may not
stabilise but it will be neutralised. There is a bit more
confidence creeping back in."
Index heavyweight BP <BP.L> slumped 4 percent after
reporting a lower than forecast 33 percent rise in
fourth-quarter replacement cost profit and saying an operational
turnaround could slow this year. []
Other energy companies to fall included Total <TOTF.PA>, ENI
<ENI.MI>, and Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.AS>, down 0.8-1.2 percent.
However, miners were higher after Australian interest rates
were left on hold and not raised []. They were
further helped by broker upgrades.
Anglo American <AAL.L>, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp.
<ENRC.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and Xstrata
<XTA.L> rose 1.5-2.3 percent.
Citgroup added Rio to 'buy' from 'hold' and raised earnings
forecasts for several companies in the sector, based on the
broker's upbeat view on metals prices.
Societe Generale upgraded Anglo American to 'buy'.
Banks were also on the rise, with gainers including Barclays
<BARC.L>, Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> and Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>,
up 1.2-2.1 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, France's CAC40
<> and Germany's DAX <> were up 0.3-0.6 percent.
NOVO NORDISK FALLS
World No.1 insulin maker Novo Nordisk <NOVOb.CO> fell 1.2
percent even as higher sales of a new diabetes drug helped it to
post a smaller drop than expected in fourth-quarter operating
profit and raise its 2010 outlook. []
Other drugmakers fell, including Shire <SHP.L> and
AstraZeneca <AZN.L> which were down 1 percent and 0.7 percent
respectively.
Shares in Mobistar <MSTAR.BR> and Belgacom <BCOM.BR> fell
5.2 percent and 2 percent respectively after Belgium's telecoms
watchdog said it wanted the country's mobile phone operators to
halve the charges for routing calls this year. []
Chip designer ARM Holdings <ARM.L>, whose results beat
forecasts, rose 4.2 percent, boosting its hopes of reentering
Britain's FTSE 100 by replacing Cadbury <CBRY.L> which will drop
out when taken over by Kraft Foods <KFT.N>. []
Later in the session, investor attention will turn to
pending homes sales data from the United States.
U.S. stocks rose on Monday as better than expected data on
manufacturing and earnings from Exxon Mobil <XOM.N> revived
bullish sentiment after stocks closed out their worst month in
almost a year.
European economic news continued to point to recovery.
German retail sales rose 0.8 percent month-on-month in real
terms in December.[]
(Editing by Dan Lalor)
