* FTSEurofirst 300 index closes up 0.8 pct
* Banks gain after Citigroup, BoA news
* Commodities rise
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - European shares closed higher
for a fourth straight day on Friday as banking stocks gained
after both Citigroup <C.N> and Bank of America <BAC.N> gave
positive comments and said they would not need government money.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares closed 0.8 percent higher at 702.12 points having been up
as high as 716.05 points. It is the first time the index has
closed above 700 since the end of February 2009.
"Financials have been continuing to push upwards following
news from Citigroup and news that Bank of America is giving
visibility for the rest of the year," Nomura strategist Philip
Lawlor said.
"But we are seeing some profit taking in tech stocks, which
have globally been a very big winner over the past few weeks."
Banks were major gainers after Citigroup <C.N> said it did
not need any more emergency cash from the government and expects
to stay private. []
News that Bank of America <BAC.N> said it was profitable in
January and February, and the group should be able to ride out
the recession without new help from the nation's taxpayers, also
lifted investor spirits. []
HSBC <HSBA.L>, Standard Chartered <STAN.L>, Credit Suisse
<CSGN.VX>, Banco Santander <SAN.MC> and BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>
were between 3 percent and 6.7 percent higher.
The DJ Stoxx European banks <.SX7P> has gained 18.1 percent
this week but is still down around 27 percent for the year.
Energy stocks were on the rise with BG Group <BG.L>, BP
<BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSb.L> and Total <TOTF.PA> up
between 0.4 percent and 4.1 percent, while crude <CLc1> traded
at around $46 a barrel.
Miners were up as metal prices rose. Anglo American <AAL.L>,
Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Eurasian Natural
Resources Corporation <ENRC.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and Xstrata
<XTA.L> were up 0.5 percent to 10.4 percent higher.
INVESTORS TAKE PROFITS IN TECHS
Also buoying investor sentiment was news that U.S.
consumers' mood improved unexpectedly in March as confidence in
government economic policy improved. []
The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said
its preliminary index reading of confidence for March increased
to 56.6 from 56.3 in February. It beat economists' expectations
for a reading of 55.0.
"It's a sign of times to come. We might have found a bottom.
The positive results we are starting to see from the U.S.
banking sector, in addition to yesterday's encouraging retail
sales number are demonstrating a bottom might have
formed for the economy," said Greg Salvaggio, vice president of
Trading, Tempus Consulting in Washington.
On the downside, technology stocks were one of the biggest
weighted losers as investors took profits. Ericsson <ERICb.ST>,
Nokia <NOK1V.HE> and Tandberg <TAA.OL> were down between 3.2
percent and 4.1 percent.
Defensives tobacco stocks fell as investors switched into
more cyclical stocks. British American Tobacco <BATS.L>,
Imperial Tobacco <IMT.L> and Swedish Match <SWMA.ST> fell
between 1.5 percent and 1.9 percent.
Qiagen <QGEN.DE> lost 8.4 percent after competitor Hologic
Inc <HOLX.O> received U.S. Food & Drug Administration approval
for two tests to detect the human papillomavirus, which can
cause cervical cancer. []
"Hologic is one of Qiagen's competitors and the news is
definitely not positive for Qiagen," said a Frankfurt-based
trader.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was up 1.1
percent, Germany's DAX <> was down 0.1 percent and
France's CAC 40 <> was up 0.4 percent.
(Editing by Karen Foster)
