* FTSEurofirst 300 index rises 0.5 percent
* Barclays leads banks higher
* Oils turn positive as crude gains
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - European shares rose for the
fourth session in five on Monday, with Barclays <BARC.L> leading
banks up, insurers advancing and energy companies reversing
earlier losses as crude prices gained more than 3 percent.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
rose 0.5 percent to 830.08 points, its highest close since Jan.
13.
The index is now down just 0.2 percent this year, after
plunging 45 percent in 2008 due to the financial sector crisis
and the prospect of a global recession.
Banks rose, supported by better than expected results at
Barclays <BARC.L>, which ended 10.9 percent higher after posting
a 6.1 billion pound ($9 billion) profit and saying credit market
losses were waning.
Other banks on the rise included Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> up
6.2 and Commerzbank <CBKG.DE>, up 8.5 percent.
UBS <UBSN.VX> fell 0.6 percent ahead of results on Tuesday.
"Fundamentally the market is positioning itself for a
rally," said Darren Winder, head of macro and strategy research
at Cazenove, in London. "We're half way through the recession,
and we're on very low multiples."
He added: "Equities are very attractive and will be
materially higher in 12 months' time than they are now."
Insurers were also strong performers. Allianz <ALVG.DE>, AXA
<AXAF.PA>, Legal & General <LGEN.L>, Prudential <PRU.L> and
Zurich Financial <ZURN.VX> rose between 4.1 and 5.7 percent.
STIMULUS PACKAGE
However, investors noted that Barack Obama's administration
had put back the announcement of a rescue plan for U.S. banks,
scheduled for Monday, until Tuesday.
The administration wants to focus on the wider economic
stimulus package, potentially worth more than $800 billion, on
which the Senate is likely to vote on Tuesday.
Analysts said that the battered banking sector would get
support from the passage of the package, but the uncertainty was
forcing investors to remain cautious.
"This is the world's biggest casino throw we've ever seen,"
said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment
Management, referring to the U.S. stimulus package.
Energy shares pared losses from earlier in the session as
crude prices <CLc1> rose more than 3 percent. Statoil <STL.OL>
finished up 4.3 percent, adding more points to the pan-European
index than any other company. Repsol <REP.MC> rose 1.4 percent.
Automobile shares were higher. France on Monday pledged 3
billion euros ($3.89 billion) in loans for struggling car makers
PSA Peugeot Citroen <PEUP.PA> and Renault <RENA.PA> and said the
two companies had promised to safeguard French jobs in return.
[]
BMW <BMWG.DE>, Daimler <DAIGn.DE>, Porsche <PSHG_p.DE>,
Peugeot and Renault were up 3.9-10.3 percent.
Truckmaker Volvo <VOLVb.ST> rose 11.3 percent, and has gained
more than 30 percent in the past two sesssions, having reported
results on Friday.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC-40 <> were up between 0.4 percent
and 0.5 percent.
U.S. shares were mixed around the time European bourses were
closing. The Dow Jones <> was flat; the S&P 500 <.SPX> was
up 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq Composite <> was down 0.1
percent.
(Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
