* FTSEurofirst 300 index closes 0.1 pct higher
* BT rises after retaining govt contracts
* Carrefour lower after trimming profit forecast
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - European shares edged up on
Friday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
indicated more stimulus was on the way and U.S. retail sales
beat forecasts.
However, weak consumer sentiment figures from the world's
biggest economy helped cap gains at just 0.1 percent for the
pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top shares,
which closed at 1,085.59 points. The index was up 1.4 percent
for the week.
U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly dipped in early October
to its lowest level since July, with buying plans on the
decline, a survey released on Friday showed.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary
October reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment came
in at 67.9, down from 68.2 in September and below the 69.0
median forecast among economists polled by Reuters.
[]
"The consumer confidence numbers have taken the shine off
the market," said Bob Parker, senior adviser at Credit Suisse.
"Bernanke's comments confirming market expectations of QE were
supportive."
He added: "The market is technically overbought, and we are
likely to have a pause at these levels."
Defensive sectors such as telecoms and pharmaceuticals
gained. BT rose 2.9 percent after the telecoms group said it had
managed to hold on to a number of contracts with the British
government. []
Roche <ROG.VX> rose 2.5 percent after positive results from
a study on a multiple sclerosis treatment.
Europe's biggest retailer Carrefour <CARR.PA> fell 3.9
percent after it trimmed its 2010 profit forecast due to weak
sales in French hypermarkets and pointed to problems in Brazil,
raising concerns over the execution of its turnaround plan.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday
that high unemployment and low inflation pointed to a need for a
further easing of U.S. monetary policy, but he offered no
details on the central bank's next step. []
Sales at U.S. retailers rose a stronger-than-expected 0.6
percent in September, lifted by big-ticket items including
autos, electronics and appliances, Commerce Department figures
showed. []
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index ended the day 0.4
percent lower, Germany's DAX <> rose 0.6 percent and
France's CAC 40 <> rose 0.2 percent.
Wall Street was mixed around the time European bourses were
closing. The Dow Jones <> was down 0.2 percent. The S&P 500
<.SPX> and Nasdaq Composite <> were up 0.1 and 0.8 percent,
respectively.
OLD MUTUAL FALLS
The insurance sector featured among the worst performers.
Old Mutual <OML.L> fell 4.8 percent after HSBC <HSBA.L> dropped
out of an $8 billion bid for South Africa's Nedbank <NEDJ.J>,
which is majority owned by Old Mutual.
Other London-listed insurers to fall included Standard Life
<SL.L> and RSA <RSA.L>, both down 3.2 percent.
HSBC fell 1.4 percent. Other heavyweight banks to fall
included Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX>, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> and
UBS <UBSN.VX>, down between 1.2 and 1.8 percent.
The Euro STOXX 50 <> rose 0.2 percent, staying
above a key resistance of 2,825.84 -- its 61.8 percent
retracement of an April high to a May 7 low -- for the third day
in a row.
The next key resistance is seen at around 2,900, said Bill
McNamara, technical analyst at Charles Stanley, although
"broadly speaking, my expectations are for it to exceed that and
run up to 2,950 before the rally peters out".
(Additional reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Will
Waterman)
