* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.4 pct
* Drugmakers gain; Novartis's results within expectations
* Upbeat U.S. consumer confidence lifts sentiment
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Tuesday,
reversing four days of losses, with upbeat corporate earnings
giving some support, while positive consumer confidence data
from the United States also boosted investor sentiment.
The pan-European FTSeurofirst 300 <> closed 0.4
percent higher at 1,022.99 points, reversing a losing streak
which was the market's worst sell-off in six months.
Drugmakers added the most points to the index. Novartis
<NOVN.VX> rose 2.1 percent after it reported a 54 percent rise
in fourth-quarter net profit to $2.3 billion, within analysts'
expectations, helped by sales of its H1N1 swine flu vaccines.
[]
Within the sector, AstraZeneca <AZN.L>, GlaxoSmithKline
<GSK.L> and Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> added 1.4 to 1.5 percent.
Investors also drew support from data showing U.S. consumer
confidence in January hit its highest level since September 2008
-- driven mostly by an improvement in present-day conditions,
according to a Conference Board report. []
"The consumer confidence numbers were better than expected,
which gave the market a boost," said Nick Serff, strategist at
City Index.
"We've had quite a big fall over the course of the last few
trading days ... what we're looking at is a bit of a bounce back
to work off that oversold condition," he said.
Among other gainers, Germany's industrial conglomerate
Siemens <SIEGn.DE> surged 5.1 percent after it surprised
investors with quarterly profit growth, thanks to cost cuts and
a solid performance in its energy and healthcare units.
Chipmaker Infineon <IFXGn.DE> and STMicroelectronics
<STM.PA> added around 2 percent, rising after U.S. rival Texas
Instruments <TXN.N> said strong sales across all its product
segments and regions last quarter would continue.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC <> rose 0.3 to 0.7 percent.
MINERS DRAG
A decline in mining stocks, however, capped gains on the
index. Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Fresnillo <FRES.L>, Kazakhmys
<KAZ.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L> shed 0.6 to 2.3 percent as metals
prices sank on concerns that monetary tightening in China could
curb demand for metals.
Earlier, data showed U.S. house prices posted a
bigger-than-expected drop in November, signalling a fragile
recovery in the country's housing market.
In the UK, figures showed the economy only just crept out of
an 18-month recession at the end of 2009 after gross domestic
product grew 0.1 percent between October and December. For 2009
as a whole, the economy shrank by 4.8 percent -- the worst
yearly performance since records began in 1949. []
"The UK's exit from the recession could not have come sooner
but a weaker-than-expected recovery poses its own problems,"
said Manoj Ladwa, senior trader at ETX Capital.
"While quantitative easing seems to have done the trick, we
may see it extended into the second half of the year, and any
interest rate rise kept on hold."
(Editing by Rupert Winchester)
