* FTSEurofirst 300 rises 0.5 pct, up for 2nd session
* Miners gain as metals rise; gold touches new high
* BoE, ECB meeting eyed on Thurs; Fed stimulus hopes grow
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Wednesday,
with mining companies among the top gainers, as expectations
grew that central banks would embark on further stimulus
measures to support global economic growth.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares closed up 0.5 percent at 1,070.68 points, after ending
higher in the previous two sessions.
Mining firms <.SXPP> rose 2.3 percent, boosted by gains in
three-months copper <MCU3> and a fresh record high for gold
<XAU=> after talk of extra stimulus from the U.S. Federal
Reserve and other central banks put pressure on the dollar.
Speculation of further quantitative easing measures picked
up after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly cut rates close to zero
on Tuesday and said it would pour money into the markets through
asset purchases.
"The expectation that the Fed might announce more
quantitative easing at its next meeting is mounting and that is
helping equity markets in the short term," said Tammo Greetfeld,
equity market strategist at UniCredit in Munich.
However, some concerns over the fragile U.S. labour market
lingered as the ADP Employer Services report showed U.S. private
employers unexpectedly cut 39,000 jobs in September. The data is
seen as a forerunner to the U.S. government's key non-farm
payrolls report, due on Friday.
The heavyweight banking sector also helped push the index
higher, with BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>
and Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> up 0.7 to 2 percent.
Greek banking stocks <.FTATBNK> added 5.5 percent, with
traders attributing the rise to tighter yields and relief that
National Bank of Greece's <NBGr.AT> rights issue will be covered
[]. The bank rose 6.8 percent.
Highlighting ongoing concerns over euro zone peripheral
countries, Fitch downgraded Ireland's debt to A+ with a outlook
negative, indicating that it may act to downgrade the country
again in the future. []
Irish bonds underperformed Bunds after the downgrade, but
the impact on the equity market was more muted, with Dublin's
benchmark index <.ISEQ> up 1.1 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> rose 0.8 to 0.9 percent.
SPOTLIGHT ON CENTRAL BANKS
Investors are likely to focus on interest rate decisions
from the Bank of England (BoE) and the European Central Bank
(ECB) on Thursday for any indication of further stimulus.
The BoE is likely to be torn three ways for the first time
since November, with dissenting voices supporting both tighter
and looser policy due to the highly uncertain economic outlook.
[]
"Tomorrow's BoE's interest-rate announcement at midday could
have a strong bearing on whether the (FTSE 100) index will be
able to sustain these gains, or will investors look to book
profits immediately before the week is out," Yusuf Heusen,
senior sales trader at IG Index wrote in a note.
Among individual movers, budget airline EasyJet <EZJ.L> rose
12 percent after saying it expected to beat its profit
expectations for the year following a strong performance over
the summer. []
Within the sector, British Airways <BAY.L>, Ryanair <RYA.I>
and Air France-KLM <AIRF.PA> gained 1.4 to 4.5 percent.
On the downside, British software firm Autonomy <AUTN.L>
slumped 16.3 percent after it said it would cut full-year
revenue guidance by about 3 percent after weaker than expected
demand. []
(Editing by Louise Heavens)
