(European stock markets will be closed for Easter on Friday and Monday.
Coverage will resume on Tuesday)
* FTSEurofirst 300 index closes 0.4 percent higher
* AkzoNobel up as profit rises
* Miners up as metals prices rise, with gold at record
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - European shares closed at their highest in more
than a week on Thursday as earnings from the likes of AkzoNobel <AKZO.AS> and
U.S. tech bellwether Apple <AAPL.O> helped eclipse economic worries.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top shares rose 0.4
percent to 1,142.56 points, the highest close since April 11. Over the shortened
week, the index gained 1 percent, recovering from a fall on Monday when Standard
& Poor's lowered its outlook for U.S. debt to negative.
Paints and chemicals group AkzoNobel NV <AKZO.AS> gained 4 percent after
first-quarter core profit rose 10 percent, and it pledged more price rises to
offset higher costs. []
"There's some strength in the earnings coming through. While we have some
macro stresses and strains, notably what is going on in the euro zone
peripherals, the earnings season is keeping the markets reasonably stable," said
Richard Batty, strategist at Standard Life Investments, part of the Standard
Life Group, which administers $324 billion of assets.
Of the 100 S&P 500 companies that have reported first-quarter earnings so
far, 78 percent of them have either beaten or met market expectations, with the
remainder below forecasts, data from Thomson Reuters StarMine showed.
Shares of Apple Inc <AAPL.O> jumped 4 percent on roaring iPhone sales and a
backlog of demand for its iPad tablets.
The heavyweight banking sector <.SX7P> gained 1.5 percent, helped by
better-than-expected results at U.S. peer Morgan Stanley <MS.N>. Italian banks
were the standout risers, with Intesa SanPaolo <ISP.MI> and UniCredit <CRDI.MI>
up 4.2 and 4.5 percent, respectively.
Investment bank Macquarie reiterated its "outperform" rating on Intesa,
describing it as "a solid, well-capitalised bank ... a safe dividend and a
payout above 40 percent".
But it added: "We stay cautious on Italian banks due to their poor
profitability and due to possible stock overhang, following the announced 10
billion euros capital raisings."
Worries over Greek debt restructuring continues to be a threat for banks.
[]
They are also expected to keep pressure on rattled peripheral bond markets
into next week, resulting in yields -- already at euro lifetime highs --
continuing to push higher. []
SCHNEIDER RISES
Among other companies, French electronic engineering company Schneider
Electric <SCHN.PA> rose 2.7 percent after posting a 27 percent rise in
first-quarter sales on Tuesday, helped by emerging markets, and confirmed its
sales and profitability targets for the full year.
But telecoms were left out of Thursday's rally. Dutch firm KPN <KPN.AS>
dropped 8.3 percent after it scaled back its 2011 profit forecast.
[]
This contributed to weakness elsewhere in the sector, pulling heavyweight
Vodafone <VOD.L> down 4.3 percent.
Gold prices hit record highs for a fifth session on Thursday, and silver
rallied to its strongest since 1980 as the dollar slid to a three-year low
against a basket of major currencies.
Base metals prices also rose. Miners to gain included Fresnillo <FRES.L>
and Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, up 2.2 and 2.1 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> fell 0.1 percent; Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC40 <> rose 0.6 and 0.4 percent, respectively.
"One thing I worry about is that corporate operating margins are at or close
to all-time highs," said Jacob de Tusch-Lec, manager of the 32 million pound
Artemis Global Income fund.
"I'm not one of those fund managers who say it's great because margins are
so high, I actually think it can only get worse from here."
(Additional reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Will Waterman)
