Banks lead European stocks higher; oils weigh

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 index closes up 0.2 pct
                                
 * Banks rise; TeliaSonera up
                                
 * Energy stocks fall as crude drops
                                
 
                                
 By Joanne Frearson
                                
 LONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - European shares closed higher on
Wednesday as investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate
decision, with gains in banks outpacing falls in energy stocks.
                                
 The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
shares closed up 0.2 percent at 1,006.09 points, having earlier
fallen to a low of 1,003.05.
                                
 The index has soared 56 percent since reaching a floor in
March, and is up 21 percent in 2009, on track to record its best
quarterly performance in nearly a decade.
                                
 "Everyone is waiting for the Federal Reserve and the
comments that are going to be made," said Philippe Gijsels,
senior equity strategist at Fortis Bank.
                                
 Banks were the major gainers. Banco Santander <SAN.MC>,
Standard Chartered <STAN.L>, Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> and BNP
Paribas <BNPP.PA> advanced 1.2 to 4.3 percent.
                                
 Telecommunication stocks were in demand. TeliaSonera
<TLSN.ST> gained 2.6 percent on renewed market talk of interest
by France Telecom <FTE.PA>, traders said. [ID:nLN481941]
                                
 A spokesman at the Nordic region's biggest telecom operator
declined to comment, while France Telecom denied the rumour.
France Telecom shares were down 1.4 percent.
                                
 Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index was down 0.1
percent, Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> was 0.1 percent lower and
France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> was down 0.1 percent.
                                
 
                                
 ENERGY STOCKS FALL AS CRUDE DROPS
                                
 Energy stocks took the most points off the index. Crude
<CLc1> dropped 3.5 percent after U.S. oil inventory data showed
a surprise and large rise in crude oil stocks and that refined
products supplies rising more than expected. [ID:nN23395452]
                                
 BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and Total <TOTF.PA>
were down 0.9 to 1.4 percent.
                                
 Liberty International <LII.L> shed 10.1 percent after the
real estate investment trust launched a placing of 56.1 million
new shares. British peers British Land <BLND.L>, Hammerson
<HMSO.L> and Land Securities <LAND.L> fell 1.4-4.5 percent.
                                
 The Fed's policy decision was expected at around 1815 GMT.
                                
 Economists forecast the policy-setting Federal Open Market
Committee would hold its target range for overnight interest
rates steady at zero to 0.25 percent until at least 2010.
                                
 The Fed was also expected to keep its financial support for
the economy in place but may offer a suggestion of how it plans
to withdraw that underpinning.
                                
 Analysts said the market was directionless.
                                
 "There is no clear trend at the moment, no big buy or sell
signals," said Jacques Henry, analyst at Louis Capital Markets,
in Paris.
                                
 "Last year's slump was excessive, but this has now been
fully corrected, and at this point, it's hard to see a catalyst
that could keep the rally going," he said.
                                
 Stocks in the FTSEurofirst 300 index currently trade at
13.75 times expected earnings, the index's highest
price-earnings ratio since May 2006, according to Thomson
Reuters data.
                                
 (additional reporting by Christoph Steitz; Blaise Robinson)