* FTSEurofirst 300 index up 0.7 pct
* Banks rise after Santander results
* ArcelorMittal disappoints
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - European share indexes were
higher in early trade on Wednesday, lifted by the banking and
chemical sectors following positive results from Spain's biggest
bank Santander <SAN.MC> and chemical group Bayer <BAYG.DE>.
By 0833 GMT the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index
of top shares was up 0.7 percent at 909.51 points. The index has
gained around 40 percent since reaching a lifetime low in early
March, and is up about 9.4 percent for the year.
"Good start this morning ... we are right in the middle of a
huge earnings season and they are ok," said Jim Wood Smith, head
of research at Williams de Broe.
"Banco Santander looks fine to us, Bayer was miles in front
of forecasts, but ArcelorMittal <ISPA.AS> results were very
poor," he said.
Banks added the most points to the index. Santander was up
1.1 percent after its net profit fell 4.5 percent in the first
half, beating analysts' forecasts as the rate of growth in bad
loans slowed. []
UniCredit <CRDI.MI>, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>, BNP Paribas
<BNPP.PA> and Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> were 1.6-2.6 percent
higher.
Chemical stocks were among the top performers. Bayer gained
3.7 percent after it stuck to its target of limiting the slide
in core underlying profit to 5 percent in 2009. []
"We are now in an important transition period for these
markets and the next few days will be pivotal to see if we can
continue the recent strength. Earnings news may help to keep the
pullback losses to a minimum," said Jimmy Yates, head of
equities at CMC Markets.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <> index was up 0.7
percent, Germany's DAX <> was 1.3 percent higher and
France's CAC 40 <> gained 1.2 percent.
ARCELORMITTAL DISAPPOINTS
In the basic resource sector, steel maker ArcelorMittal fell
6.1 percent after it said it made a third consecutive net loss,
of $792 million, with further inventory write-downs and
provisions for job cuts. []
"It's a meagre outlook. There's recovery, but it's not as
fast and as great as expected," said Rbo Securities analyst
Frank Claassen.
Miners were in the doldrums as copper slipped 2.3 percent.
Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, BHP Billiton
<BLT.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L> were down 1-1.6
percent.
Energy stocks were mixed. British gas producer BG Group
<BG.L> was down 1.5 percent after it reported a 31 percent drop
in its second-quarter net profit, as gas and oil prices fell
sharply, and said it would not meet its production target for
the year. []
However, BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and Total
<TOTF.PA> were 0.9-1 percent higher.
Drugmakers reversed from earlier gains as Sanofi-Aventis
<SASY.PA> slipped 0.2 percent following initial rises.
The company beat consensus expectations for its
second-quarter earnings when it raised its growth forecast for
adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to around 10 percent at
constant exchange rates from at least 7 percent. []
GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>, Novo Nordisk <NOVOb.CO> and
Novartis <NOVN.VX> were down 0.4-1.9 percent.
(Editing by Greg Mahlich)
