* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.9 pct after Wednesday's losses
* Macroeconomic numbers, earnings results support market
* Miners, financials among top gainers
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Encouraging company results and
soothing economic numbers helped European shares bounce back on
Thursday from five-week closing lows a day earlier, though the
rally appeared fragile as volumes remained thin.
French bank Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA> rose 2.7 percent on an
89 percent rise in second-quarter net profit, miner Kazakhmys
<KAZ.L> gained 5.2 percent after its underlying first-half
earnings per share jumped 130 percent, and French hotel group
Accor <ACCP.PA> rose 3.9 percent after doubling core profit.
Sentiment also improved after figures showed new U.S. claims
for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, and
the GfK market research group said German consumer morale was
likely to rise in September to its highest level since October
2009. [] []
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
closed 0.9 percent higher at 1,020.27 points after rising as
high as 1,023.23 earlier in the day and hitting a five-week
closing low in the previous session.
"After recent bad economic numbers and losses in equities,
the market was ripe for some stabilisation, and today's U.S.
initial jobless claims numbers provided some support," said
Tammo Greetfeld, equity strategist at UniCredit.
"But we see further deterioration in the economic outlook
and expect to see lower share prices over the next couple of
weeks," he added.
Though new U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell more
than expected last week, they remained too high to signal a
material shift in a weak labour market that is constraining
economic growth. []
Miners were the top performers, helped by a 2.6 percent jump
in copper prices <MCU3> and a 1.2 percent rise in aluminium
<MAL3> on bargain hunting and a weaker dollar.
The STOXX Europe basic resources index <.SXPP> climbed 2.1
percent, while Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Rio
Tinto <RIO.L> and BHP Billiton <BLT.L> rose 2 to 3.5 percent.
Financial stocks were also in demand. The STOXX Europe 600
banking index <.SX7P> was up 1.3 percent, while Standard
Chartered <STAN.L>, Lloyds <LLOY.L> and Natixis <CNAT.PA> gained
2.8 to 3 percent.
UPSIDE POTENTIAL
The Euro STOXX 50 <> rose 0.8 percent to 2,606.89
points. The euro zone's blue-chip index managed to end above
2,585, the 23.6 percent Fibonacci retracement of its fall from
an April high to a May low, indicating more upside potential.
The index faces resistance at 2,670 points, its 38.2 percent
retracement level and again at its 50-day moving average of
2,691 points.
"We're still yo-yoing in a range in this very technical
market where indices move back and forth from support levels to
resistance levels," said Jacques Henry, analyst at Louis Capital
Markets, in Paris.
German chipmaker Infineon <IFXGn.DE> closed 5.2 percent
higher to top Frankfurt's large-cap index <> after traders
pointed to a report by Bloomberg saying Intel <INTC.O> was close
to an agreement to buy Infineon's wireless unit. Infineon
declined to comment. []
The VDAX-NEW volatility index <.V1XI>, one of Europe's main
barometers of investor anxiety, rose 1.6 percent after hitting a
seven-week high in the previous session. The higher the index,
based on sell and buy options on Frankfurt's top-30 stocks
<0#.GDAXI>, the lower investors' appetite is for risky assets.
"Markets are certainly looking a little less toppy than they
have been, and as we move out of the quiet summer period, this
could spur another wave of M&A activity," said Ben Critchley,
sales trader at IG Index.
"Today may have offered a degree of respite, but to suggest
this is any kind of turning point would be a step too far."
(Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson in Paris; Editing by
Will Waterman)
