Europe shares close higher and rise for 5th week

                                
 (Reuters will not be providing pan-European market reports on
Friday and Monday as markets are closed for the Easter holiday.
Normal market reports resume on Tuesday).
                                
 
                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 rises 2.1 percent
                                
 * Index up 0.9 pct over shortened week, 5th straight gain
                                
 * Banks advance; Barclays up 12.5 pct
                                
 * Mining shares rise as metals prices gain
                                
     
                                
 By Brian Gorman
                                
 LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - European shares closed higher on
Thursday, buoyed by positive corporate and economic news from
the United States, including an upbeat statement from Wells
Fargo <WFC.N>, which lifted banks. 
                                
 The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares
rose 2.1 percent to 778.39 points. The index rose 0.9 percent
over the week, which was shortened by the Good Friday holiday,
for its fifth straight weekly gain.
                                
 It was "a wonderful set of results from Wells Fargo, and
less horrific jobless figures," said David Buik, senior partner,
at BGC Partners.
                                
 But he added: "The market had left itself horribly exposed
long. (Traders) were looking to hang their hat on a piece of
good news."
                                
 The index is up 20.6 percent from its lifetime low of March
9 but is still down 6.4 percent this year after plunging 45
percent in 2008, hammered by a banking crisis and several major
economies going into recession.
                                
 Wells Fargo & Co <WFC.N>, the fourth-biggest U.S. bank,
soared more than 30 percent in early trade after the company
forecast first-quarter net income of about $3 billion. It also
said its acquisition of Wachovia was going better than expected.
[ID:nN09260398]
                                
 The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless
benefits fell more than expected last week, although so-called
continued claims scaled another record high in late March,
government data showed. [ID:nN09264257]
                                
 Wall Street was higher as European bourses were closing. The
Dow Jones <.DJI>, S&P 500 <.SPX> and Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC>
were up between 2.3 and 3 percent. 
                                
 It was further helped by a source familiar with official
talks saying that U.S. officials will not look to close any
banks based on the results of "stress tests". [ID:nWEN7069]
                                
 Back in Europe, banks were the biggest gainers. 
                                
 Barclays <BARC.L> closed 12.5 percent higher after it said
it was selling its iShares asset management business to private
equity firm CVC Capital Partners [CVC.UL] for 3 billion pounds
($4.4 billion) in a deal that will be 70 percent funded by the
British bank. [ID:nL9253562}

                                
 Other banks to gain included Banco Santander <SAN.MC>,
Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, Lloyds <LLOY.L>, and
UBS <UBSN.VX>, up between 4.6 and 10.9 percent.  
                                
 Hypo Real Estate <HRXG.DE> jumped 15 percent after the
German government offered to take over the stricken bank, the
country's highest profile casualty of the financial crisis. 
                                
 German financials were boosted by reports the government is
mulling the creation of a bad bank to take hundreds of billions
of euros of problem loans under the wing of the state.
[ID:nL887061]
                                
    
                                
 ING SURGES
                                
 ING Group <ING.AS> jumped 17.8 percent after the Dutch
financial services group said it planned to divest operations
worth up to 8 billion euros ($10.6 billion) to reduce risk and
will focus its banking activities on Europe. [ID:nL996121]
                                
 Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index closed 1.5 percent
higher; Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> and France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> were
up 3.1 and 1.8 percent respectively. 
                                
 Mining shares also advanced as copper jumped 3.8 percent.
                                
 BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Xstrata <STA.L> and Eurasian
Natural Resources <ENRC.L> rose between 3.8 and 10.7 percent.
                                
 Indian-focused mining group Vedanta <VED.L> finished 13
percent higher. It posted higher fourth-quarter output of its
two most profitable products, zinc and iron ore, but shut down
some aluminium and copper operations to cut costs.
                                
 Solvay <SOLB.BR> soared 13.2 percent after Reuters reported
that the Belgian chemicals and drug maker planned to start a
formal auction of its pharmaceutical business after the weekend
Easter break [ID:nL8943116]
                                
Other chemicals companies to rise included BASF <BASF.DE>, up
6.5 percent. 
 (Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Jon
Loades-Carter)