* FTSEurofirst 300 rises 0.1 percent
* UBS up after surprise Q1 update; Greek banks soar
* Miners, oils fall
* For the latest market news, click on []
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) - European shares edged up early
on Monday after euro zone finance ministers approved an
emergency aid mechanism for Greece, and with UBS <UBSN.VX>
gaining after it said first-quarter profit surged.
But weaker mining and oil shares capped gains.
At 0839 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 0.1 percent at 1,102.63 points, after
rising 1.3 percent on Friday to an 18-month closing high, and
notching up its sixth straight week of gains.
The European benchmark is up more than 70 percent from its
lifetime low of March 9, 2009.
"It's still bull market conditions," said Bernard McAlinden,
investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers. "Worries that we
might lurch back into a deflationary slump are lessening."
He added that equities "are climbing against the background
of low yield on alternative assets".
Swiss banking group UBS <UBSN.VX> rose 3.5 percent after it
said, in a surprise update, that first-quarter pre-tax profit
would be at least 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.33 billion),
adding client withdrawals had slowed at all its business
divisions. []
Other banks to rise included BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Banco
Santander <SAN.MC>, BBVA <BBVA.MC>, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> and
UniCredit <CRDI.MI>, up between 1.4 and 2.4 percent.
Greek banks <.FTATBNK> soared 8.4 percent. National Bank
<NBGr.AT>, EFG Eurobank <EFGr.AT>, Piraeus Bank <BOPr.AT> and
Alpha Bank <ACBr.AT> rose between 9.1 and 13.8 percent.
Euro zone finance ministers approved a giant 30-billion-euro
($40 billion) emergency aid mechanism for debt-plagued Greece on
Sunday, but stressed Athens had not requested the plan be
activated yet. []
"The market seems to be able to compartmentalise the Greek
thing and pull it apart from the bigger picture," said
McAlinden. "I wouldn't see the Greek thing as being good news.
It's just some relief from the embarrassment of default."
Miners were mostly lower, even as copper prices remained
near 20-month highs, as the dollar weakened.
Antofagasta <ANTO.L> fell 1.6 percent after Citigroup cut
its rating to "hold" from "buy".
BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp.
<ENRC.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, Lonmin <LMI.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>
and Xstrata <XTA.L> fell between 0.5 and 1.7 percent.
Energy companies also fell. Total <TOTF.PA> and Royal Dutch
Shell <RDSa.L> were down 0.6 and 0.3 percent respectively.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> was flat;
Germany's DAX <> and France's CAC40 <> were both up
0.1 percent.
HOME RETAIL JUMPS
Among other individual shares, Home Retail Group <HOME.L>
jumped 5.3 percent after a Sunday newspaper said the British
retailer might be a bid target for Wal Mart-owned <WMT.N> grocer
Asda.
Asda declined to comment on the report.
Supermarket group J Sainsbury <SBRY.L> rose 3.4 percent
after BofA Merrill Lynch upgraded it to "buy" from
"undeperform".
U.S. stocks rose on Friday with the Dow surpassing 11,000
for the first time in a year-and-a-half after Chevron's upbeat
outlook and wholesale inventories data reinforced bets on an
improving economy.
After the markets close, Alcoa <AA.N> will kick off the
first-quarter U.S. earnings season with banking giant JP Morgan
<JPM.N> among those reporting later in the week.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 <> closed 0.4 percent
higher on Monday.
(Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
