* FTSEurofirst 300 ends 0.5 pct higher after Tuesday's fall
* Drugmaker shares among top gainers; Actelion jumps 9 pct
* Focus remains on debt situation in Ireland
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - European equities bounced back on
Wednesday, with a surge in Actelion <ATLN.VX> on reports of bid
interest from Amgen <AMGN.O> boosting pharmaceuticals, while
miners rose after supply worries pushed up metals prices.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
closed 0.5 percent higher at 1,092.46 points, rebounding after
suffering a 2.3 percent drop on Tuesday -- the index's biggest
one-day retreat in nearly five months.
Actelion jumped more than 9 percent on reports the world's
largest biotech firm Amgen was studying a takeover offer for the
Swiss drugmaker, which said it was in "regular dialogue" with
other industry players.
GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> rose 2.4 percent following backing
from a U.S. advisory panel for its lupus drug Benlysta, seen as
a potential blockbuster, while Roche <ROG.VX> and Sanofi-Aventis
<SASY.PA> rose 1.3 percent and 1.7 percent respectively.
Investors kept a close eye on the situation in Ireland,
which agreed to work with a European Union-IMF mission on urgent
steps to shore up its shattered banking sector, a process that
could lead to a bailout despite Dublin's deep reluctance.
[]
"The picture remains that the euro zone is under severe
tensions and that the underlying causes for the tensions will
not be overcome any time soon. The equity markets remain
vulnerable to temporary increases in this kind of tension," said
Tammo Greetfeld, equity strategist at UniCredit.
"If Ireland gets the financial aid, then in the short term
this should lead to some relief for the equity market. However,
any form of financial assistance is not a solution as such to
the underlying causes of the tensions in the euro zone."
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Multimedia coverage on Euro Zone crisis:
http://r.reuters.com/hus75h
Description of EU safety net: []
How Ireland might tap funds: []
Euro zone debt struggles: http://r.reuters.com/hyb65p
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MINERS ADVANCE
Miners featured among the top gainers, with the STOXX 600
European basic resources sector index <.SXPP> rising 0.8 percent
after slumping 5 percent on Tuesday, as copper <CMCU3> rose 0.8
percent on supply concerns following a strike at the world's
third-largest copper mine in Chile. Nickel <CMNI3> prices were
up 4.5 percent.
BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L> and Rio Tinto <RIO.L> rose 0.3 to 0.8 percent.
The Euro STOXX 50 <> rose 0.8 percent to 2,802.70
points. Technically the index is likely to face stiff resistance
at 2,805.95, the index's 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement of a
fall from an April high to a May low.
Alexandre Le Drogoff, technical analyst at Aurel BGC, said
the euro zone's blue chip index could soon fall again.
"The index seems to be heading towards a test of the lower
band of its upward channel. Weakness signals are increasing,
with yesterday's Marubozu of Yin, and there has been a rise in
volumes over the past few days, just like we saw during the
corrections in January and April," he said.
Among individual movers, British credit information group
Experian Plc <EXPN.L> rose 6.3 percent after raising its interim
dividend and saying it continued to look at ways of returning
cash to shareholders after a stronger than expected first half.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<>, France's CAC 40 <>, Portugal's PSI 20 <>,
Ireland's ISEQ <.ISEQ>, Spain's IBEX 35 <> and Italy's MIB
<.FTMIB> rose 0.4 to 1.5 percent. The Thomson Reuters Peripheral
Eurozone Countries Index <.TRXFLDPIPU> was up 0.9 percent.
"With all the discussions taking place between Dublin and
Brussels, the only certainty at the moment is that the
uncertainty will continue to limit the upside," said Michael
Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets.
(Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson in Paris; Editing by
Greg Mahlich)
