* FTSEurofirst 300 index up 0.6 percent
* BSkyB jumps on News Corp buyout bid, rejects offer
* Banks reverse earlier falls, led by UBS, SocGen
* For up-to-the minute market news, click on []
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - European shares were higher at
midday on Tuesday, led by buoyant banks as investors brushed
aside an expected downgrade of Greece's credit rating by Moody's
that had sent markets lower at the opening.
Shares in BSkyB <BSY.L> jumped 19 percent, surging on
expectations that majority shareholder News Corp <NWSA.O>,
controlled by Rupert Murdoch, will raise its offer for the
remaining 61 percent of the pay-TV company that it does not
already own. BSkyB has rejected an initial offer of 700 pence a
share as too low, saying it would support an offer over 800
pence.
By 1008 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <>
index of top shares was up 0.6 percent at 1,037.02 points,
gaining ground for the fifth consecutive session.
"The main driver behind the week-long rally in European
stocks has been the recent bounce in the euro. It has helped
stabilise equities, and is now creating room on the upside for
stocks," said Vincent Ganne, technical analyst at IG Markets, in
Paris.
"The currency went from $1.51 to $1.19, a lot has been
priced in already, so it's not a surprise to see the market
brushing aside the latest downgrade of Greece."
The single currency saw gains of over 2 percent over the
last five sessions, but is still down almost 15 percent year to
date.
After the closing bell in Europe on Monday, Moody's
downgraded Greece government bond ratings into junk territory,
citing the risks in the euro zone/IMF rescue package for the
debt-stricken country. Moody's cut the rating by four notches to
'Ba1', placing it one notch into junk status.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> is still down 6.7 percent
since mid-April, when fears that Greece's debt crisis could
spread to other euro zone countries and undermine the global
economic recovery intensified.
UBS <UBSN.VX> rose 2.5 percent after Switzerland's largest
political party, SVP, signalled it would back a tax deal between
Switzerland and the United States in a key parliamentary vote.
Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> was up 3 percent afer setting a
net profit goal of 6 billion euros ($8.05 billion) for 2012 and
doubling its target for this year, as the bank seeks to restore
investor confidence in a tough business environment.
Spain sold more than 5 billion euros of T-bills. Average
yields were higher than at the previous auction in May but
bid-to-cover ratios -- a measure of demand -- also rose and
traders saw it as a positive signal about investors' risk
appetite.
"It shows that there is demand," said David Thebault, head
of quantitative sales trading, at Global Equities.
"The big fears have been dissipating, and the rebound in the
Europe STOXX 50 <> is mostly technical," said David
Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading, at Global
Equities.
"People are trying to see if the index can climb back to its
200-day moving average."
The STOXX 50 was up 0.5 percent on Tuesday, at 2,455.76
points. The index's 200-day moving average was 2,502.66.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was up 0.4
percent, Germany's DAX <> gained 0.5 percent and France's
CAC 40 <> was 0.6 percent higher.
The Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Countries Index
<.TRXFLDPIPU> was up 0.7 percent.
(additional reporting by Blaise Robinson in Paris)
