* FTSEurofirst 300 gains 2.5 percent
* Banks, oils top gainers
* Political risk eyed after India attacks
By Sitaraman Shankar
LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - European shares rose in early
trade on Thursday, led by oils and banks and tracking U.S. and
Asian gains.
At 0917 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European
shares was up 2.5 percent at 851.29 points, with gainers
outnumbering losers by 9 to 1.
Banks were the top gainers, as Standard Chartered <STAN.L>,
trading ex-rights, jumped 10.5 percent from its adjusted closing
price on Wednesday. Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX>, Deutsche Bank
<DBKGn.DE>, UBS <UBSN.VX> and Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> rose
3.5-7.8 percent.
Carmakers rose on fresh hopes for a government bailout of
industry major General Motors <GM.N>, with Renault <RENA.PA>,
Peugeot <PEUP.PA>, BMW <BMWG.DE> and Daimler <DAIGn.DE> up
3.8-5.3 percent.
But trading was expected to be thinned by a Thanksgiving Day
market holiday in the United States.
"It's going to be a bit of a nothing day, as we wait for
Black Friday in the United States -- the day where all retailers
go from red to black," said Justin Urquhart Stewart, investment
director at Seven Investment Management.
"If it goes like the UK, it could be a black Friday in the
wrong sense," he added.
Retailers have been among the sectors hit by economic
worries which have punctured global equities this year.
Europe's biggest home improvements retailer, Kingfisher
<KGF.L> dropped more than 6 percent after it said trading was
set to get tougher and that it needed to conduct a more
comprehensive repositioning of its loss-making Chinese business.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE <> rose 1.3 percent,
Germany's DAX <> gained 1.9 percent and France's CAC
<> added 2 percent.
Among energy stocks, BP <BP.L> and Total <TOTF.PA> rose more
than 2 percent.
POLITICAL RISK REARS ITS HEAD
Adding to economic woes, political risk returned to the fore
as suspected Islamist gunmen launched waves of attacks in the
heart of India's financial capital, Mumbai, taking many
foreigners hostage in two of the city's plushest hotels.
And pressure built on Thailand's military to intervene in a
political crisis threatening to descend into widespread civil
unrest after Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat rejected calls to
quit.
"These awful events are reinforcing the nervousness about
emerging markets, which have been weak any way for some time
after the U.S. slowdown and the domino effect," said Stewart.
"Political risk is returning to the fore, adding to economic
risk -- this is another dry piece of wood thrown on to an
unpleasant fire," he said.
The FTSEurofirst 300 is down 44 percent so far this year,
punctured by a credit crisis that shook the world's top banks
and tipped major economies into recession.
The index suffered its worst month in five years in October,
losing 12.7 percent and has lost nearly 9 percent this month.
Trade has been volatile, with the index up on nine days and
down on 10 days so far in November.
(Reporting by Sitaraman Shankar; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
