Pharmas push Europe stocks higher; D.Bank weighs

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 shares gain 0.4 percent
                                
 * Pharma stocks add most points to index
                                
 * Deutsche Bank falls after Q2 results, but banks gain
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]
                                
 
                                
 By Christoph Steitz
                                
 FRANKFURT, July 28 (Reuters) - European shares rose on
Tuesday, boosted by drugmakers, but Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>
fell after reporting a significant rise in loan provisions
despite better-than-expected quarterly net profit.
                                
 By 0855 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
European shares was up 0.2 percent at 913.71 points, after
reaching its highest close since November on Monday, boosted by
U.S. data pointing to economic recovery and expectations that
the ongoing earnings season will continue to be positive.
                                
 The index has gained about 42 percent since reaching a
lifetime low of 645.50 points in early March.
                                
 "There is this sentiment in the market about the glass being
half full -- but there is a big gap between the euphoria and
reality, a bit like a supermodel without makeup," said
Commerzbank Chief Strategist Hans-Juergen Delp.
                                
 "Earnings expectations have been lowered so much that they
are easily exceeded," he added.
                                
 Pharmaceutical stocks added most points to the index and the
DJ STOXX European healthcare index <.SXDP> was the
second-biggest sectoral leader, up 0.8 percent.
                                
 Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> rose 1.9 percent, after Morgan
Stanley upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "equal weight".
                                
 Other stock movers included BP <BP.L>, which fell 1.2
percent. The oil major said it had increased its cost reduction
targets for 2009 by 50 percent to $3 billion, as it reported a
halving in second quarter profits. [ID:nLR694861]
                                
 
                                
 DEUTSCHE BANK DROPS
                                
 EADS <EAD.PA> shares gained 5.7 percent, after the European
aerospace group reported a 23 percent drop in first-half profit,
but kept its basic outlook. [ID:nLS281033]
                                
 On the downside, Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest bank, fell
4.3 after posting a consensus-busting second-quarter net profit,
but said provisions for credit losses rose to 1 billion euros in
the second quarter from 135 million euros a year earlier.
[ID:nLS438105]
                                
 "Due to the economic crisis the companies are faced with low
expectations. Low enough, that most companies are able to exceed
the forecasts. Investment banks -- irony of fate -- are already
faced with high expectations, which are not easy to reach," said
Roger Peeters, strategist at Close Brothers Seydler. "Deutsche
Bank, which posted figures today, is one of the examples."
                                
 However, the DJ STOXX European Banking Index <.SX7P> rose
0.8 percent, with Banco Santander <SAN.MC> and Commerzbank
<CBKG.DE> up 1.5 and 1.4 percent, respectively.
                                
 Dutch supermarket group Ahold <AHLN.AS> fell 4.5 percent,
after its second quarter sales lagged forecasts. [ID:nLS243711]
                                
 Around Europe, UK's FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> gained 0.4
percent, Germany's DAX index <.GDAXI> rose 0.8 percent and
France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> added 0.7 percent.
                                
 (Editing by Marie Maitre)