* FTSEurofirst 300 index up 0.4 percent
* Commodities gain as crude, metals rise
* Vodafone slips
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - European shares ended higher on
Wednesday in a choppy session, extending a winning streak to
five days, with commodity stocks the major gainers as the price
of crude oil and metals rose.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares was up 0.4 percent at 875.85 points at the provisional
close, having traded in a narrow range.
The index, which slumped 45 percent in 2008, rose to its
highest close in more than four months on Tuesday and is about
35 percent higher than a lifetime low on March 9.
"Cyclicals are leading the market today, commodity prices
are quite firm. There is no particular strong news out there and
investors are asking what are the themes -- which is the oil
price ticking up today," said Nomura strategist Philip Lawlor.
"Investors still want to build positions in cyclicals as
they have been extremely oversold."
Energy stocks were higher, with oil <CLc1> firming above $61
a barrel to touch a new six-month high as bullish inventory data
and a spate of refinery accidents in the United States smoothed
over investor resistance.
BG Group <BG.L>, BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and
Total <TOTF.PA> were up between 0.7 and 1.5 percent.
Miners rose as metal prices advanced, with copper <MCU3=LX>
gaining 1.7 percent.
Lonmin <LMI.L> soared 8.1 percent, while Anglo American
<AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Eurasian
Natural Resources Corporation <ENRC.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and
Xstrata <XTA.L> were between 0.9 and 4.3 percent higher.
VODAFONE SLIPS
Banking stocks took the most points off the index in a
choppy session, although stocks within the sector were mixed.
The sector took some support from news that Bank of America
Corp <BAC.N> raised $13.47 billion through a share sale, marking
a major step toward meeting the U.S. government's requirements
for capital-raising following the recent "stress testing" of the
bank. []
Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> and
Bank of Ireland <BKIR.I> were up between 1.5 and 15.1 percent.
However British banks were in the doldrums, with HSBC
<HSBA.L>, Standard Chartered <STAN.L> and Lloyds Banking Group
<LLOY.L> down between 1.9 and 8 percent.
Insurers were also down. Allianz <ALVG.DE> fell 3.2 percent
as Nomura downgraded the company to "reduce" from "neutral".
Heavyweight mobile telephone group Vodafone <VOD.L> slipped
1.9 percent after Fitch ratings changed the outlook on the
long-term issuer default rating to "negative" from "stable".
"Markets have been still quite resilient ... but still quite
a lot of nervousness about the impending recovery which will
probably restrain the market going forward," said Darren Winder,
a strategist at Cazenove.
"When we are reaching levels where investors feel like
things are getting fully valued we do so see a little more
volatility."
Among the gainers, Bayer <BAYG.DE> was 6.4 percent higher
after its Nexavar drug won Japanese regulatory approval for
treating advanced liver cancer, giving a boost to one of its top
drug hopes. []
Porsche <PSHG_p.DE> ticked up 3 percent after the families
who control the company said they were open to the idea of
selling a stake to an outside investor. []
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was down 0.3
percent, Germany's DAX <> was up 1.6 percent and France's
CAC 40 <> was up 0.9 percent.
(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; editing by Karen Foster)
