* FTSEurofirst 300 index gains 1.1 pct
* Financials, commodity shares rise ahead of key results
* Q-Cells falls 11.3 pct on sales outlook
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - European equities raced higher
on Tuesday following sharp gains in the previous session, with
investors snapping up banks and commodity shares ahead of
results from companies like Goldman <GS.N> and Intel <INTC.O>.
At 0832 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 1.1 percent at 838.96 points after
surging 2 percent in the previous session. The index, which
slumped 45 percent in 2008, is up about 29 percent since falling
to a lifetime low in early March.
Financial shares were in demand, with Standard Chartered
<STAN.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, Barclays <BARC.L>, Lloyds <LLOY.L>,
Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, Commerzbank <CBKG.DE>, Bank of
Ireland <BKIR.I> and BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> rising 2-9.3 percent.
"We are going into the earnings season so the optimists will
look for signs of a confirmation of recovery," said Jonathan
Lawlor, head of European research at Fox-Pitt, Kelton.
"We could have continuing volatility. It is the lowest
period of activity in the year apart from the Christmas period,
so volumes should be low. You might see some sharp moves."
Investors awaited earnings results from Goldman Sachs
<GS.N> and Intel <INTC.O> later in the session, while other
companies announcing results this week include Bank of America
Corp <BAC.N>, JPMorgan <JPM.N>, Citigroup <C.N> and General
Electric <GE.N>.
Positive macro-economic data also underpinned the market.
Surveys showed British retail sales rose in June and house
prices fell at their slowest rate in two years, in further signs
the economy may be bottoming out after the worst downturn in
decades. []
Miners got strength from higher metals prices. BHP Billiton
<BLT.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto
<RIO.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and Eurasian Natural Resources <ENRC.L>
rose 2-4.3 percent.
"It was great to see the markets strengthen yesterday," said
Owen Ireland, analyst at ODL Securities.
"However, investors might still be wary that this could be
the one step forward before the two steps back that has become
so familiar to us over the last month."
OILS GAIN, Q-CELLS DOWN
Energy stocks tracked crude prices <CLc1>, which reversed
the previous session's losses and rose above $60 a barrel on
improved sentiment.
BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSb.L>, BG Group <BG.L>,
Tullow Oil <TLW.L>, Repsol <REP.MC> and StatoilHydro <STL.OL>
added between 0.2 percent and 1.9 percent.
But some companies lost ground.
Q-Cells <QCEG.DE>, the world's biggest maker of solar cells,
slipped 11.3 percent after it withdrew its full-year sales
outlook, expecting a substantial operating loss in the second
quarter, as market environment remained dire. []
Germany's Software AG <SOWG.DE> fell 7 percent after it said
it will buy IT consultancy group IDS Scheer <IDRG.DE> for almost
500 million euros ($696 million) in what will be the first major
corporate takeover in Germany this year. []
IDS shares surged 38 percent.
Belgian holding company RHJ International SA <RHJI.BR> was
down 0.2 percent. The company said on Monday it was in advanced
talks to buy a majority stake in General Motors Corp's
<GMGMQ.PK> European unit Opel. []
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> were up 0.6-0.9 percent.
(Editing by Simon Jessop)
