* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.6 percent
* U.S. data and BoE, ECB rate decisions support stocks
* Oils, financials and retailers among top gainers
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - European shares set a one-week
closing high on Thursday after data showed new claims for U.S.
jobless aid fell to a 10-month low and business productivity in
the third quarter grew at the fastest pace in six years.
Investors risk appetite grew, with the VDAX-NEW volatility
index <.V1XI> down 4 percent. The lower the volatility index,
based on sell and buy options on Frankfurt's top-30 stocks
<0#.GDAXI>, the higher is investors' desire for risky assets
such as equities.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
ended up 0.6 percent at 990.53 points -- the highest close since
Oct. 29 -- after an intraday low at 969.74.
Retailers were among top gainers, led by Delhaize <DELB.BR>
which gained 5 percent after the Belgian group raised its 2009
operating profit forecast and reassured about its ability to
cope with tough trading conditions in its main U.S. market.
Ahold <AHLN.AS> jumped 4.5 percent. The grocer is freeing
up two of its most senior executives from day-to-day management
operations, fuelling speculation it was stepping up the search
for acquisitions. []
Carrefour <CARR.PA>, Tesco <TSCO.L> and J Sainsbury <SBRY.L>
rose 0.7-3.5 percent.
"Everybody was cautious in the last few days, but the
macro-economic data gave the market a little push," said
Giuseppe-Guido Amato, strategist at Lang & Schwarz. "We see a
good support here."
U.S. data showed productivity surged at a 9.5 percent annual
rate, the quickest pace since the third quarter of 2003, while
initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 20,000 to
512,000 last week, the lowest since January. []
Energy shares gained ground as crude oil <CLc1> traded
around $80 a barrel, up more than 4 percent from a week ago. BP
<BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, BG Group <BG.L>, Tullow Oil
<TLW.L>, Repsol <REP.MC>, Total <TOTF.PA> added 0.3-0.9 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index <>, Germany's
DAX <> and France's CAC 40 <> rose 0.4-1.1 percent.
INTEREST RATE DECISIONS
The market also got support after the European Central Bank
and Bank of England kept interest rates on hold and BoE said it
would expand its quantitative easing programme by 25 billion
pounds ($41 billion). [] []
"We had the Bank of England giving the biggest lift in the
sense that it said it will give a small expansion of the QE
scheme and that I think is a positive," said Peter Dixon,
economist at Commerzbank.
"We will probably really get a directional sense when the
(U.S.) payroll numbers come in tomorrow," he said.
Financials also advanced, with Standard Chartered <STAN.L>,
Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>, Natixis <CNAT.PA> and Banco
Santander <SAN.MC> rising 0.7-3.2 percent.
French bank BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> rose 3.3 percent after it
beat forecasts with a strong rise in quarterly profits,
enhancing its status as one of the winners from the banking
crisis just as German peer Commerzbank <CBKG.DE> slipped further
into the red.
Commerzbank, which received an 18.2 billion euros bailout,
said it still expected to make a loss in 2009 and 2010. Its
shares fell 4.7 percent. []
Among miners, Vedanta Resources <VED.L> fell 2.1 percent
after posting a steep fall in first-half profit due to weaker
metals prices. BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and ENRC
<ENRC.L> fell 0.2-0.6 percent.
Bureau Veritas <BVI.PA> fell 9.9 percent after disappointing
results, but Adecco <ADEN.VX>, the world's largest staffing
company, rose 2 percent after it said there were signs of a
tentative pickup in demand for temporary workers and companies
were making fewer layoffs. []
The European index, which slumped 45 percent last year, is
up 19 percent in 2009 and has surged 53 percent since hitting a
record low in early March.
(Editing by Dan Lalor)
