Europe shares tick up as strong banks offset Roche

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.3 percent
                                
 * Banks gain after Geithner comments
                                
 * Roche tumbles on key drug setback
                                
 
                                
 By Sitaraman Shankar
                                
 LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) - European shares ticked higher
early on Wednesday as banks gained ground, offsetting the impact
of Roche <ROG.VX>, which tumbled after a cancer drug setback,
while company results sent mixed signals.
                                
 At 0830 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
European shares was up 0.3 percent at 789.77 points.
                                
 The index is up 7.6 percent this month and has risen 22
percent from a 12-year low hit in early March, driven largely by
hopes that the banking sector, worst hit by a global credit
crisis, was turning the corner.
                                
 Financials were broadly higher after U.S. Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner indicated most U.S. banks have sufficient
reserves to protect against possible losses.
                                
 Barclays <BARC.L> jumped 7.7 percent, while ING <ING.AS>,
Allianz <ALVG.DE>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, AXA <AXAF.PA>, Credit
Suisse <CSGN.VX>, UniCredit <CRDI.MI> and Deutsche Bank
<DBKGn.DE> posted gains of 2.1-4.8 percent.
                                
 There were continued signs of a recovery from some company
results, but the overall picture was mixed.
                                
 Swedish home appliances maker Electrolux <ELUXb.ST> jumped
12 percent after it said good cash flow would help it ride out
the economic slump, while Heineken <HEIN.AS> fell 6 percent
after posting a drop in beer volumes.
                                
 "In the medium term we're trying to find a bottom -- that's
the bottom line," said John Haynes, strategist at Rensburg
Sheppard.
                                
 "The test is the earnings season, that stocks suffer bad
news but react well to that. So far they're not passing that
test but not failing it decisively either."
                                
 Across Europe, Britain's FTSE <.FTSE> was up 0.2 percent,
Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> up 0.4 percent and France's CAC <.FCHI>
was up 0.4 percent.
                                
 
                                
 ROCHE DEPRESSES DRUGMAKERS
                                
 Roche slid 10 percent after a late-stage trial of its key
cancer drug Avastin showed that it did not prevent the
recurrence of colon cancer in patients who have undergone
surgery.
                                
 GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>, which reports results later in the
session, fell 1.4 percent and Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> lost 1.1
percent.
                                
 Glaxo is expected to report a strong rise in sales and
profits in sterling terms but the picture could be a lot less
healthy once the flattering effects of a weak British pound are
stripped out, analysts said.
                                
 Among prominent losers was BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, which fell
3 percent after saying it expected output from the world's
bigger copper mine to decline 30 percent this financial year.
                                
 Later in the session, investors will focus on the UK budget
and results from Morgan Stanley <MS.N>.
                                
 Rensburg's Haynes said that investor appetite for risk was
still limited.
                                
 "It's difficult to jump and down if one believes
macroeconomic data is going to remain fragile," he said.
                                
 "But the view that we are within 10 to 15 percent of the
lows is gaining currency."
                                
 (Reporting by Sitaraman Shankar; editing by John
Stonestreet)