* FTSEurofirst 300 index rises 0.9 pct
* AXA rises on UK sale talks with Resolution
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - European shares rose for a
fourth straight session on Monday as optimism on global economic
recovery led some investors to cover short positions.
At 1327 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <>
index of top shares was up 0.9 percent at 1,028.23 points having
risen as far as 1,031.05, the highest since May 18.
The index is still down more than 7 percent from a peak in
mid-April, after fears that Greece's debt crisis could spread to
other euro zone countries and undermine global economic recovery
intensified.
Analysts pointed to supportive economic data, notably from
the United States on Friday.
"Consumer sentiment is better, and we're just a few weeks
away from the Q2 reporting season, for which the indications are
very healthy for the market," said Christian Stocker, strategist
at UniCredit Global Research, in Munich.
"We have more positive than negative news, and there is a
lot of short covering."
Banks were among the biggest gainers, continuing a recovery
of recent days.
Barclays <BARC.L>, Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA>, Societe
Generale <SOGN.PA> and UniCredit <CRDI.MI> rose between 2.8 and
4.1 percent. Greek banks <.FTATBNK> rose 5.5 percent.
Insurer AXA rose 2.5 percent after it confirmed it was in
talks with Resolution Group <RSL.L> over the sale of its British
life insurance arm in a deal worth 2.75 billion pounds ($4.03
billion).
Within the sector, Aegon <AEGN.AS>, ING <ING.AS>, Old Mutual
<OML.L> and Prudential <PRU.L> rose 1.9 to 3.7 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> rose 0.4 percent,
Germany's DAX <> and France's CAC 40 <> rose 1.2 and
1.6 percent respectively.
The Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Countries Index
<.TRXFLDPIPU> rose 2.5 percent.
BP FALLS
Oil giant BP <BP.L> trimmed sharp gains made on Friday and
fell 6.1 percent. The stock is down about 44 percent since the
oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico started in mid-April.
Investors are awaiting the outcome of a board meeting on
Monday to discuss whether the company will cut or defer its
second-quarter dividend payment.
Other oils were higher, however, boosted by a rising crude
price, with a weaker dollar, which also supported metals prices.
Total <TOTF.PA> rose 2 percent.
Among miners, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>,
Fresnillo <FRES.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>,
Vedanta <VED.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L> rose between 2.1 and 4.8
percent.
Comments from Greece's prime minister late on Friday helped
soothe worries over Europe's debt crisis.
George Papandreou told a meeting of top bankers his
government made a conscious decision against default and against
leaving the euro, a decision that made "good economic sense" and
repeated a pledge that the country would pay its dues.
[]
Investors' sentiment got a further boost from data on Monday
showing euro zone industrial output in April surged year-on-year
more than in any month in almost two decades, bolstering the
view that economic recovery could be gathering
pace.[]
(Editing by Erica Billingham)
