European shares end higher; financials, commods gain

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 closes up 2.6 pct 
                                
 * Trade thin due to U.S. holiday
                                
 * Financials and commodities boost index 
                                
 
                                
 By Brian Gorman
                                
 LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - European shares closed higher on
Thursday, led by commodities and financials, although volumes
were light due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.
                                
 The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top European shares
rose 2.6 percent to close at 852.38 points. The index has risen
12 percent this week, but has fallen more than 43 percent so far
this year.
                                
 "We've had so many dead-cat bounces, you have to be a bit
careful before saying this is the end of them," said Mike
Lenhoff, strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
                                
 "But it does have a different feel to it this time. The key
this week was the Citigroup bailout. Also, the Federal Reserve's
new initiatives. They're engaging in quantitative easing now,
trying to get money into the economy by purchasing debt."
                                
Lenhoff said: "Bond yields have come down, with the Fed
willing to buy debt and mortgage-backed securities. If bond
yields continue to fall, that will help a sustained rally in
equities." 
                                
 German insurer Allianz <ALVG.DE> gained 10.1 percent.
Traders said it was a technical rebound after the stock lost
more than one-third in value earlier this month.
                                
 Many insurers fell heavily when equity markets hit
multi-year lows last week, as values of their portfolios
slumped. 
                                
 They have benefitted strongly from the rally this week. The
DJ Stoxx insurance index <.SXIP> was the top sectoral performer
with a rise of 5.5 percent. British insurers Prudential <PRU.L>
and Aviva <AV.L> closed up 8.8 and 6.7 percent respectively.
Aviva is up more than 80 percent from its low of Oct. 27.
                                
 Dutch ING <ING.AS> climbed 11.4 percent and AXA <AXAF.PA> of
France was up 8.2 percent. 
                                
 Banks were also firm, with Standard Chartered <STAN.L> up
11.6 percent from its adjusted closing price on Wednesday as it
began trading ex-rights.
                                
 Allied Irish Banks <ALBK.I>, Anglo Irish Bank <ANGL.I> and
Bank of Ireland <BKIR.L> closed up between 5.7 and 15.4 percent
after the Irish Association of Investment Managers said a number
of investment companies have put forward a plan to the Irish
government over the possibility of co-investing with it in the
recapitalisation of the banking system.
                                
 Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> gained 12.4 percent, Societe
Generale <SOGN.PA> was up 8.5 percent and Credit Suisse
<CSGN.VX> closed 9.2 percent higher.
                                
 Fortis <FOR.AS> soared 20 percent, with analysts still
convinced BNP Paribas' plan to buy some of its assets will go
ahead, though the EU Commission announced on Thursday it was
extending its review of the proposed deal.
                                
 Crude oil prices <CLc1> slipped back 0.8 percent to $54.00 a
barrel, but energy companies were still reacting to the surge
that took them well above $54 late on Wednesday. 
                                
 Total <TOTF.PA>, BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and
Statoil <STL.OL> rose between 2.2 and 4.7 percent.
                                
 Miners gained, with most metals prices rising. BHP Billiton
<BLT.L>, Lonmin <LMI.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Vedanta Resources
<VED.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L> rose between 2.3 and 12.2 percent.
                                
London-listed Chilean miner Antofagasta <ANTO.L> ended the
day 7.6 percent higher after posting a 3 percent rise in its
nine-month core profit as higher production outweighed flat
prices and surging costs.
                                
 
                                
 PHARMAS FALL
                                
 Drugmakers fell, losing some of their defensive attraction
in a rising market. GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>, AstraZeneca <AZN.L>
and Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> finished between 1.1 and 2.6
percent lower. 
                                
 Some telecoms fell after European Union governments agreed
to cap prices of roamed mobile phone texts and data downloading
from July 2009. Vodafone ended 0.4 percent lower and Deutsche
Telekom <DTEGn.DE> fell 3.5 percent.
                                
 Economic data painted a grim picture, with a euro zone
economic sentiment indicator hitting a 15-year low in November.
                                
 Europe's biggest home improvements retailer, Kingfisher
<KGF.L>, dropped 2.4 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 <.FTSE> rose 1.8 percent,
Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> was up 2.3 percent and the French CAC 40
<.FCHI> added 2.5 percent.
 (Additional reporting by Peter Starck; Editing by Andrew
Macdonald)