* Top index rises first time since June 3
* InBev gains after offer to buy Anheuser-Busch
* Banks top gainers as relief rally sets in
By Amanda Cooper
LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - European shares rallied on
Thursday, after six days of declines, as banks and mining stocks
rose, while the bid from Belgian brewer InBev <INTB.BR> for U.S.
rival Anheuser-Busch <BUD.N> boosted beverage stocks.
Banks bounced back from recent losses as an index of
European banks <.SX7P> staged its first rise since June 3, with
leaders including Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> which rose 7.9
percent. BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> and Spain's BBVA <BBVA.MC> rose
2.7 and 3.1 percent, respectively.
A reading of U.S. retail sales that beat forecasts helped
support the broader market in afternoon trade as it suggested
U.S. consumer spending -- a key driver of economic growth -- was
holding up better than expected in spite of record-high energy
prices and the ongoing credit crunch.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index rose 0.9 percent to
1,261.11 points, making this its first rise since June 3.
However, analysts did not expect the rally in European
equities to last long.
"We're up because there has been no bad news, we've had a
bit of respite from the ongoing doom and gloom," said IG Index
chief market analyst David Jones.
"At the moment it smells like an oversold rally so (the
market) was going to come back at one point after the plunges
we've seen this week, but I don't think anyone is too convinced
as of yet."
HBOS <HBOS.L> rose 9.7 percent, having earlier fallen
further below the level of its planned rights issue.
"There's a little bit of bottom-fishing going on, people did
get very panicky yesterday," said Roger Cursley, a strategist at
Investec in London. "It's nervy out there," he added. "People
were right to be shocked yesterday when they saw HBOS' rights
issue under water."
Spain's Banco Popular <POP.MC> rallied 6.7 percent after
newspaper Negocio said a group of Mexican businessmen was
considering a bid. The bank said it was unaware of an offer.
Miners powered ahead, with Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, one of the
largest individual positive weights on the index, up 4.1
percent. Vedanta <VED.L> rose 2.2 percent after a Goldman Sachs
upgrade, while Xstrata <XTA.L> added 4.9 percent after Goldman
raised its price target on the stock.
CHEERS TO BEERS
InBev rose 6.2 percent after it offered $46.3 billion for
Anheuser-Busch. Other brewers moved on the deal. SABMiller
<SAB.L>, once seen as a possible takeover target for InBev, fell
3 percent, while Heineken <HEIN.AS> rose 2 percent.
Oil stocks Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and Total <TOTF.PA>
eased in line with crude oil <CLc1> paring some of Wednesday's
hefty gains.
Shell and Total fell 1 to 1.5 percent, while BP <BP.L> was
up just 0.4 percent.
The surge in the oil price this year, which has triggered
growing concern from policymakers in the United States, Britain
and the euro zone, has weighed on equities.
"The price of energy is going to stay high for longer," said
Bruno Berry, European equities fund manager at Morley in London.
"Every time you break a record somebody is going to try and
break the next one, it's like in sport."
Around Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <> was up 1.2
percent, Germany's DAX <> rose 1 percent and France's CAC
<> edged up 0.2.
On the downside, Carphone Warehouse <CPW.L>, Europe's
biggest independent mobile phone retailer, fell as much as 18.6
percent to all-time lows after saying it had seen falling
broadband demand due to a slowdown in the housing market and was
cautious about the year ahead.
Carphone Warehouse shares ended down 11.1 percent.
(Additional reporting by Rebekah Curtis; editing by Rory
Channing)
