* FTSEurofirst 300 rises 2.1 pct, biggest gain in 3 months
* Spanish banks rebound strongly
* Miners among top gainers; China factory output data helps
* Carrefour falls 5.6 pct after cutting forecast again
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - European shares posted their
biggest one-day gain in three months on Wednesday, buoyed by
better-than-expected U.S. labour data, and with miners gaining
on strong factory output numbers from top metals consumer China.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
rose 2.1 percent to close at 1,089.16 points, the biggest
one-day percentage gain since Sep 1.
The index fell to an eight-week closing low in the previous
session on worries about euro zone sovereign debt.
Spain's two biggest banks, Banco Santander <SAN.MC> and BBVA
<BBVA.MC>, were among the standout risers on Wednesday, up 7.2
and 7.3 percent respectively, regaining some of the ground lost
in recent days.
Other banks to gain included Lloyds <LLOY.L> and UniCredit
<CRDI.MI>, up 6 and 6.5 percent respectively. Greek banks
<.FTATBNK> rose 7.7 percent.
Some strategists put the index's surge down to bargain
hunting.
"Some stocks were getting cheap. People have just had a
chance to reflect on some of the corporate earnings we've had
this year," said Mark Webster, head of European active equities
at State Street in London.
"My sense is that people are still looking to buy on
weakness rather than sell into strength."
U.S. private sector payrolls saw their biggest rise in three
years in November, lifting optimism about the jobs market ahead
of Friday's key government employment report.
Adding to the view that the U.S. economic recovery was
picking up steam, non-farm productivity grew faster than
previously estimated in the third quarter. []
Figures showed China's official purchasing managers' index
(PMI) rose to a seven-month high in November.
Metals prices, also boosted by a weaker dollar, rose. Miners
to gain included BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and
Xstrata <XTA.L>, up between 3.1 and 5.8 percent.
A bailout for Portugal "is in the price", Webster said, "and
the reaction would be relatively muted. We may get a year-end
rally with some optimism for 2011".
But other analysts said the market bounce may be short-lived
and concerns over euro zone debt could soon resurface.
"Today is a good day but I would not bet on this lasting for
too long. We still have considerable uncertainties around the
sovereign credit crisis and this will, on and off, spook the
market," said Klaus Wiener, head of research at Generali
Investments in Cologne.
Analysts also said the market got support from technical
buying after shares moved closer to an oversold territory.
Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX <> and
France's CAC 40 <> ended the day between 1.6 and 2.7
percent higher, while the Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone
Countries Index <.TRXFLDPIPU> rose 4.3 percent. Spain's IBEX
<> rose 4.4 percent.
CARREFOUR CUTS
French retailer Carrefour <CARR.PA> fell 5.6 percent after
cutting its 2010 profit forecast for a second time in six weeks.
[].
Volvo <VOLVb.ST> rose 6.2 percent after UBS raised its
rating on the Swedish truck maker to "buy" and after a
reweighting of indexes. []
Other auto makers gained, helped by an upbeat Nomura note
saying the continent's market should be "back in the black in
2011". Renault <RENA.PA> and BMW <BMWG.DE> rose 5.1 percent.
British insurer Prudential <PRU.L> rose 5.5 percent after
outlining a plan to double Asian new business profits.
[]
The Euro STOXX 50 <> rose 2.7 percent, moving back
towards a key support level -- the 50 percent retracement of the
index's drop from an April high to a May low.
Wall Street was higher around the time European bourses were
closing. The Dow Jones <>, S&P 500 <.SPX> and Nasdaq
Composite <> were up between 1.8 and 2 percent.
(Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by David
Hulmes)
