* FTSEurofirst 300 rises 0.2 pct
* Deutsche Bank, several other companies rise after results
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - European shares edged up on
Thursday, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
signalled he was in no rush to scale back support for the
economy, although strategists said gains might soon reverse.
At 0830 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 0.2 percent at 1,151.32 points, its sixth
day of gains. It rose 0.3 percent in the previous session to its
highest close in eight weeks, buoyed by strong corporate
earnings.
The Fed said it would complete the purchase of $600 billion
in bonds in June to support the U.S. economy's recovery, and
would keep its balance sheet steady. It also repeated it plans
to keep overnight interest rates near zero for "an extended
period". []
"It looks as though we're going to get QE lite," said Justin
Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management. "The
markets will be reassured, though the punch bowl is being
replaced by a smaller punch bowl. But with today's (U.S.) GDP
figures expected to be weaker, there will be a level of
nervousness."
The latest batch of European corporate results was also
mostly positive for the markets.
Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> rose 4.5 percent after it beat
forecasts with a quarterly net profit at a near-record level as
crisis-era expansion at its investment bank bore fruit.
[]
The euro zone's biggest bank Santander <SAN.MC> rose 1.5
percent after posting a small decline in first-quarter net
profit as its overseas business, particularly in Brazil, offset
a sluggish Spanish home market.
Spain's benchmark <> rose 1.1 percent.
Thursday sees the deadline for Spanish savings banks to get
definitive approval for plans to raise capital from the Bank of
Spain.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> rose 0.1 percent;
Germany's DAX <> and France's CAC40 <> rose 0.5 and
0.6 percent respectively.
UNILEVER FALLS
Unilever <ULVR.L> fell 2.5 percent after the Anglo-Dutch
consumer goods group posted a rise in first-quarter underlying
sales that just missed analysts' average forecast.
Unilever said the impact of higher commodity costs this year
would be greater than expected.
German business software maker SAP <SAPG.DE> fell 5.7
percent after first-quarter earnings fell short of market
expectations. []
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> rose 1 percent after it beat
forecasts with a 22 percent rise in first-quarter profit, thanks
to higher oil and gas prices and fatter refining margins.
Others in the energy sector gained, as crude prices <CLc1>
rose to their highest in 2-1/2 years. Gasoline stockpiles fell
more than expected, and the dollar <.DXY> hit a three-year low
after the Fed's comments.
Total <TOTF.PA> and Repsol <REP.MC> both gained 0.7 percent.
The U.S. Commerce Department will release its first estimate
of first quarter GDP at 1230 GMT. U.S. economic growth probably
braked sharply to an annualised 2 percent rate in the first
quarter as higher food and gasoline prices crimped consumer
spending. []
The Nasdaq <> hit a 10-year high on Wednesday, and
other U.S.indexes hit their highest in nearly three years,
helped by strong corporate results, as well as the Fed's
comments.
European shares have not achieved the same highs, and are
still more than 3 percent below a February peak.
Equity valuations on Thomson Reuters Datastream showed the
STOXX Europe 600 <> carrying a one-year forward
price-to-earnings of about 10.3 against a 10-year average of
13.5.
But strategists still say that shares are ripe for a
correction. There could be a "pullback of between 5 and 10
percent," Urquhart Stewart said.
"(The rally) has been on pretty thin volumes, and an absence
of bad news," said Lothar Mentel, chief investment officer at
Octopus Investments.
"And there's been no further worsening in the Middle East.
But the rally will probably peter out sometime next week after a
very good run."
