* FTSEurofirst 300 index gains 2.6 percent
* HSBC, BNP Paribas jump as profits beat view
* U.S. ISM manufacturing data better than expected
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - European shares hit a three-month
closing high on Monday, to finish above a key resistance level,
boosted by strong results from HSBC <HSBA.L> and BNP Paribas
<BNPP.PA> and better than expected U.S. manufacturing data.
The STOXX Europe 600 banking sector index <.SX7P> surged 3.9
percent, snapping two days of losses. HSBC and BNP Paribas both
jumped 5.3 percent, after the banks trumped earnings forecasts
as bad debts fell sharply.
According to Thomson Reuters StarMine data, 12-month
forecast earnings growth for the banking sector is one of the
highest, at 81.4 percent, compared with the STOXX 600 average of
25.9 percent.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index closed up
2.6 percent at 1,070.93 points. The index has slipped in the
past three sessions but ended 5 percent higher in July to record
its first monthly gain since March.
"Positive results in the banking sector and U.S. ISM figures
have pushed up the market," said Philippe Gijsels, head of
research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets in Brussels.
"The Euro STOXX 50 index has broken its 200-day moving
average, which is very important as investors put short-stops on
this and once it is hit they buy back their positions, which is
helping to boost the market."
The Euro STOXX 50 index <>, the euro zone's
blue-chip index, closed 2.9 percent higher at 2,822.17 points,
above a key technical resistance of around 2,800 points.
Investor sentiment was also buoyed after the U.S. ISM
manufacturing sector grew in July for the 12th straight month at
a rate that was slightly better than expected. []
Greek bank shares <.FTATBNK> rose 7.2 percent, helped by
continuing merger talk. Alpha Bank <ACBr.AT>, Greece's
third-largest lender, gained 8.1 percent.
On Sunday, Alpha Bank's chairman, Yannis Costopoulos, told a
Greek newspaper the lender would consider teaming up with a
foreign bank if it is large and strong enough. [].
INTERTEK GAINS
Britain's Intertek <ITRK.L> gained 6.2 percent after the
testing equipment firm raised its full-year revenue forecast.
[]
"The earnings season is doing the trick. The results are
better than expected," said Heino Ruland, a strategist at Ruland
Research in Frankfurt.
Miners were also higher as industrial metal prices hit
multi-month highs, after investors grew more optimistic about
the economic outlook.
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> rose 3.7 to 5.9 percent.
Meanwhile BP <BP.L>, whose shares were up 1.8 percent, could
start plugging its Gulf of Mexico Macondo well on Monday night,
more than three months after the blowout that led to the worst
offshore oil spill in U.S. history. []
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was 2.7 percent
higher, Germany's DAX <> was up 2.3 percent and France's
CAC 40 <> gained 3 percent.
(Additional reporting by Brian Gorman; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
