Miners lift European shares; Danske, Adecco fall

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.4 percent
                                
 * Miners gain on firmer metal prices; oils up
                                
 * Danske Bank, Adecco, Natixis drop
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]
                                
 
                                
 By Christoph Steitz
                                
 FRANKFURT, Aug 11 (Reuters) - European shares were higher on
Tuesday as mining stocks gained on firmer metal prices, while
investors took positions ahead of a new flurry of blue-chip
earnings later this week.
                                
 By 0814 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3>
index of top shares was 0.4 percent higher at 948.14 points.
Europe's benchmark index has gained 14 percent in 2009, and is
up 47 percent since reaching a record low in early March.
                                
 "The market is in keeping a low profile at the moment," said
Postbank equity strategist Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein.
                                
 "Trading today should be rather quiet as smaller companies
are reporting while tomorrow and the day after will see a slew
of earnings of European heavyweights. Later in the day U.S. data
will come in, which should not be too bad -- but it is not that
sort of number that makes the market move in a big way," he
said.
                                
 Miners gained on firmer metal prices, with Rio Tinto
<RIO.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.T> and Anglo American <AAL.L> up 1.3
to 1.5 percent.
                                
 Rio Tinto said it had yet to be presented with any evidence
to support the detention of four of its China-based staff on
suspicions of stealing state secrets. [ID:nSYD540071]
                                
 Oil and gas stocks gained after oil <CLc1> rose, temporarily
breaking through the $71 mark, as record Chinese oil imports and
refinery production helped offset mixed economic data.
[ID:nSP473359]
                                
 The DJ STOXX European Oil & Gas Index <.SXEP> was 0.6
percent higher, with BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.AS> and
BG Group <BG.L> up 0.5 to 1.0 percent.
                                
 
                                
 DANSKE, NATIXIS DROP
                                
 On the downside, shares in Denmark's biggest financial group
Danske Bank <DANSKE.CO> dropped 1.9 percent after it reported a
bigger-than-forecast drop in second-quarter pretax profits.
[ID:nDKT004549]
                                
 France's Natixis <CNAT.PA> plunged 8.7 percent after the
firm's parent BCPE bank told French market regulator AMF it does
not plan to delist Natixis as part of a strategic review.
[ID:nLB596224] [ID:nB487944]
                                
 "We never believed in a squeeze-out ... but look for some
profit taking today though as delisting was a scenario mentioned
by many," a Paris-based trader says.
                                
 Shares in Adecco <ADEN.VX>, the world's largest staffing
company, fell 1.7 percent after it missed forecasts with a
second-quarter loss and said it was buying the UK's Spring Group
to boost its professional staffing business. [ID:nLA210762]
                                
 German real estate company GAGFAH <GFJG.DE> fell 8.7
percent, after a person familiar with the matter told Reuters
that Goldman Sachs has placed 10 million shares on behalf of an
unidentified investor. Goldman declined to comment.
                                
 Later in the day, investors will focus on U.S. economic
data, with Redbook chain store sales due 1255 GMT.
                                
 Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index was up 0.4
percent, while Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> and France's CAC 40
<.FCHI> were both up 0.6 percent.
                                
(Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson in Paris; editing by
John Stonestreet)