* FTSEurofirst 300 index up 0.5 percent
* Oil majors gain as crude price rebound from 3-wk lows
* Daimler <DAIGn.DE> up on strong Mercedes Benz unit
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - European shares rose early on
Tuesday, reversing losses from the previous session, boosted by
oil majors, while carmakers gained as Daimler <DAIGn.DE> rose
after doubling its profit outlook for its Mercedes Benz unit.
By 0836 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <>
index of top shares was up 0.5 percent at 1,093.04 points, after
falling 0.7 percent on Monday.
Luxury carmaker Daimler rose 7 percent. The firm said it
might earn twice as much as it previously forecast from its
Mercedes-Benz passenger car business this year after lively
demand for its limousines. []
Within the sector, BMW <BMWG.DE>, Fiat <FIA.MI>, PSA Peugeot
Citroen <PEUP.PA>, Renault <RENA.PA> and Volkswagen <VOWG_p.DE>
rose 3.2 to 4.1 percent.
"Q1 earnings are coming through on balance better than
expected, with strong results from Daimler in Europe and
Citigroup <C.N>, and there is a bit of relief on Goldman Sachs
<GS.N>," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB
Stockbrokers.
Oil and gas companies were among the biggest gainers,
boosted by a rise in crude prices <CLc1> to above $82 a barrel
from three week lows after jet fuel demand increased as flights
from large parts of Europe were set to resume. []
BP <BP.L>, BG <BG.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, Total
<TOTF.PA> and ENI <ENI.MI> rose 0.1 to 1.1 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> rose 0.3 to 0.5 percent.
GOLDMAN EARNINGS EYED
Banks were higher, shaking off some of the previous
session's losses, with Barclays <BARC.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L>,
Commerzbank <CBKG.DE> and Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> up 0.1 to 1.2
percent.
Focus later in the session is likely to be on first-quarter
results from Goldman Sachs, with investors hoping for strong
numbers from the U.S. bank to switch the attention away from the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud charge against
it. []
The company's shares reversed losses at the close in New
York on Monday, with investors saying the furore over the
allegations had started to die down during trading, allowing the
market to refocus on coming earnings.
Other U.S. companies to report earnings on Tuesday include
Apple <APPL.O>, Yahoo <YHOO.O> and Bank of New York Mellon Corp
<BK>.
Among individual movers in Europe, Raiffeisen International
Bank Holding <RIBH.VI> rose 6.3 percent after the emerging
Europe bank released details of its remerger with parent
Raiffeisen Zentralbank. []
Novartis AG <NOVN.VX> rose 1.6 percent. The drugmaker stuck
to its 2010 goals as it posted forecast-beating quarterly
figures after governments bought up its flu vaccine during the
swine flu pandemic. []
Associated British Foods <ABF.L> rose 2.6 percent as it beat
analyst forecasts with a 20 percent jump in half-year profits.
Within the sector, Tesco <TSCO.L> slipped 0.8 percent after
the world's No.4 retailer met forecasts with a 9 percent rise in
full-year profit, but signalled a slowdown in recent sales
growth in its main British market. []
On the macroeconomic front, British consumer price inflation
rose more than expected in March, led by knock-on effects from
gas bills that were flat last month after falling a year ago.
(Editing by Louise Heavens)
