* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.6 pct, recoups some of Tuesday loss
* Siemens rises 3.6 pct after posting strong earnings
* Bayer drops 3.7 pct after results miss forecast
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Blaise Robinson
PARIS, April 29 (Reuters) - European stocks gained ground in
early trade on Wednesday, reversing some of the previous
session's losses, as results from a number of bellwethers such
as Siemens <SIEGn.DE> and Santander <SAN.MC> pleased investors.
Shares of Siemens surged 3.6 percent after reporting strong
first-quarter figures, with investors shrugging off a widely
anticipated move by the German electronics and engineering
conglomerate to trim its outlook.
Spain's Santander <SAN.MC>, the euro zone's largest bank,
gained 4.4 percent after beating forecasts for first-quarter
profits.
At 0823 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 0.6 percent at 806.20 points, after
losing 1.5 percent on Tuesday, hit by growing fears over the
economic impact of the swine flu outbreak.
"Analysts had been expecting really bad corporate figures,
and now some of the results beat forecasts, but it doesn't mean
things are improving," said David Thebault, head of quantitative
sales trading at Global Equitites.
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> gained 0.4 percent after
outperforming analysts' forecasts, though it reported sharply
lower first-quarter profit due to lower crude prices.
French tyre maker Michelin <MICP.PA> rose 6.7 percent after
posting first-quarter sales that were slightly higher than
expected and said it was well on track to generating positive
free cash flow in 2009.
"We might have reached a turning point... With dealers'
destocking almost over, markets should stabilize soon, and the
group is starting to get the full benefit of raw mat price
collapse," Deutsche Bank analyst Gaetan Toulemonde wrote in a
note.
"Thus, the rebound of margins could be as sharp as the
decline was," Toulemonde wrote.
French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> rose
2.7 percent after announcing a cleanout of its pipeline as it
posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
On the downside, pharmaceutical and chemicals group Bayer
<BAYG.DE> shed 3.7 percent after the company's first-quarter
results broadly missed expectations.
SAP <SAPG.DE> dropped 1.7 percent after the software maker
posted disappointing first-quarter figures.
No.1 steelmaker ArcelorMittal <ISPA.AS> tumbled 4.4 percent,
as investors shunned the stock after the company's much-watched
earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation
(EBITDA) dropped 82 percent in the January to March period,
missing analyst forecast.
Later in the session, investors' focus will move to U.S. GDP
data and an outlook from the U.S. Federal Reserve, looking for
signs of recovery in the world's biggest economy.
The median forecast for the gross domestic product (GDP)
was for a contraction of 4.9 percent on a annualised basis.
The Federal Reserve ends a two-day policy meeting later on
Wednesday and, with interest rates already near zero, analysts
will be looking for any moves to inject more money into the
financial system and the central bank's assessment of the state
of the economy.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
is down 3.1 percent so far in 2009, but has risen nearly 25
percent since hitting a multiyear low in early March.
(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; editing by Karen Foster)
