* FTSEurofirst 300 rises 1 pct; trades above 1,000 mark
* Commodity stocks advance as crude, metals prices rise
* Caution before U.S. Federal Reserve meeting
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - European equities resumed their
upward march on Tuesday after two sessions of losses, with a
rebound in crude prices powering energy stocks, but investors
remained cautious ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting.
At 0823 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was 1 percent higher at 1,008.74 points after
falling 0.7 percent on Monday. It is up 21 percent this year and
has surged about 56 percent since hitting a record low in March.
Energy stocks advanced as crude oil <CLc1> climbed above $70
a barrel, bouncing back after its 3 percent decline in the
previous session.
BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, Tullow Oil <TLW.L>,
Repsol <REP.MC>, Total <TOTF.PA> and StatoilHydro <STL.OL> added
1.1-3.2 percent.
British energy firm BG <BG.L> was up 1.9 percent. It is
seeking to recover more than $1 billion in oil export duty paid
to Kazakhstan, through an international arbitration court,
Kazakh Energy Minister Sauat Mynbayev said on Tuesday.
[]
"The fundamental position for all equity markets has just
been improving and we know that the central banks, particularly
the UK and, importantly, the Federal Reserve, are committed to
keep interest rates low for a long period of time," said Mike
Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
"It's a very positive feature for the markets. Technically
though, it still looks a little overbought."
Financials <.SX7P>, which have jumped 170 percent since
March lows, were also in demand. Standard Chartered <STAN.L>,
HSBC <HSBA.L>, Barclays <BARC.L>, Lloyds <LLOY.L>, Royal Bank of
Scotland <RBS.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> and Societe Generale
<SOGN.PA> rose between 0.3 and 1.4 percent.
The VDAX-NEW volatility index <.V1XI>, fell 3.8 percent. The
lower the index, which is based on sell and buy options on
Frankfurt's top-30 stocks <0#.GDAXI>, the higher is investor
appetite for risky assets, such as stocks.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index <>, Germany's
DAX <> and France's CAC 40 <> rose 0.9-1.2 percent.
FED MEETING EYED
Investors' focus was on a two-day Fed meeting, starting on
Tuesday. The policy-setting U.S. Federal Open Market Committee's
(FOMC) decision on interest rates is expected at around 1815 GMT
on Wednesday, and economists expect it to hold the target range
for overnight interest rates steady at zero to 0.25 percent.
Markets will be looking for any comment indicating the Fed
might wind back its unconventional measures given the improving
macroeconomic data.
Miners gained ground as key base metals prices advanced.
Copper <MCU3> rose 1.4 percent, aluminium <MAL3> gained 0.9
percent and nickel <MNI3> was 2.3 percent higher.
BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and Eurasian
Natural Resources <ENRC.L> rose 1.9-3 percent.
Cadbury <CBRY.L> was up 0.6 percent. The head of the
confectioner, which is facing a possible takeover by U.S. food
giant Kraft Foods Inc <KFT.N>, said there were some
"complementary elements" in the two companies' portfolios,
according to a Wall Street Journal report. []
Still, Cadbury Chief Executive Todd Stitzer, in an interview
with the newspaper, said the British company's shareholders
still reject the deal at the 9.7 billion pound ($16 billion)
price offered by Kraft.
Imperial Tobacco Group <IMT.L>, the world's No. 4 cigarette
group, rose 0.5 percent, after it said trading remained in line
with its expectations while the integration of Altadis was on
track. []
German building materials maker HeidelbergCement <HEIG.DE>
fell 1.1 percent after the company said it had priced shares to
be issued in its planned capital increase at 37 euros each.
(Editing by Rupert Winchester)
