Buoyant miners help European stocks nudge higher

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 rises 0.1 percent, hits one-week high
                                
 * VDAX volatility at 3-week low, flirts with 15-month low
                                
 * H&M falls as same-store sales miss expectations
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]
                                
 
                                
 By Blaise Robinson
                                
 PARIS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - European stocks inched higher in
early trade on Tuesday, led by miners as investors braced for
key economic data.
                                
 At 0909 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
European shares was up 0.1 percent at 1,019.02, gaining ground
for a fourth consecutive session, after hitting a one-week high
of 1,021.25 points earlier.
                                
 Rio Tinto <RIO.L> gained 0.6 percent, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>
added 0.9 percent and ArcelorMittal <ISPA.AS> climbed 2.1
percent, rising with metal prices. Copper inched higher, helped
by a weaker dollar.
                                
 But the market's gains were limited by weak bank stocks,
with Barclays <BARC.L> down 1.5 percent, Banco Santander
<SAN.MC> 0.5 percent lower and Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> off 1.1
percent.
                                
 "Graphics show a diamond-shape configuration building up at
the moment, and index traders have the finger on the trigger,"
said Bertrand Lamielle, head of discretionary portfolio
management at BCapital, in Paris.
                                
 "As soon as we break out of the diamond on the upside,
stocks could be surging for a few sessions," he said.
                                
 Signalling a rise in investor appetite for risky assets, the
VDAX-NEW volatility index <.V1XI> was down 2.2 percent on
Tuesday, hitting a three-week low and flirting with 15-month
lows.
                                
 The lower the volatility index, which is based on options on
Frankfurt's top-30 stocks <0#.GDAXI>, the higher is investor
appetite for risky assets such as equities.
                                
 Around Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> was down 0.2
percent, Germany's DAX index <.GDAXI> up 0.1 percent, and
France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> flat.
                                
 Hennes & Mauritz <HMb.ST> dropped 0.8 percent after the
Swedish fashion retailer undershot expectations with a 9 percent
fall in same-store sales in November.
                                
 
                                
 M&A PLAYS
                                
 German truckmaker MAN <MANG.DE> added 3.6 percent after
German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung quoted an unidentified
company executive as saying MAN expects a full takeover bid by
Volkswagen <VOWG.DE>, up 0.9 percent.
                                
 Both MAN and Volkswagen declined to comment on the report.
                                
 Cadbury <CBRY.L> shed 0.8 percent after Kraft Foods <KFT.N>
vowed to maintain discipline in its pursuit of the British
confectioner.
                                
 Investors awaited U.S. data on producer prices and
industrial output, seeking clues on the outlook for the world's
biggest economy the day before the Federal Reserve's interest
rate decision and accompanying statement.
                                
 "Investors' sentiment has changed and the market may start
to react negatively to stronger-than-expected macro-economic
data, as it will fuel speculation of early interest rate hikes,"
BCapital's Lamielle said.
                                
 The market will also focus on Germany's ZEW index on analyst
and investor economic sentiment, due at 1000 GMT.
                                
 The FTSEurofirst 300 has surged 58 percent since reaching a
record low in March After a dismal performance last year,
Europe's benchmark index is on track for its best annual
performance since 2005.
 (Editing by Dan Lalor)