* FTSEurofirst 300 index closes 1.3 percent higher
* U.S. consumer spending data boosts sentiment, banks gain
* Telenor strong after broker upgrade
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - European shares snapped four
sessions of losses to close higher on Monday, buoyed by bank
shares and upbeat U.S. consumer spending data, but they failed
to climb beyond a key technical level.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares closed 1.3 percent higher at 1,026.68 points, while the
Euro STOXX 50 <> rose 1.5 percent to 2,668.67 points.
Barclays <BARC.L>, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> and BNP Paribas
<BNPP.PA> gained 1.5 to 3.6 percent, benefiting from the G20's
decision to adopt a more flexible timetable for lenders to
implement new capital rules. []
Standard Chartered <STAN.L> bucked the trend, however,
slipping 1.8 percent after the lender said recent economic
uncertainty had hurt business, taking the shine off a strong
first-half performance. []
Data showed U.S. consumer spending rose slightly more than
expected in May even as savings touched their highest level in
eight months, pointing to a recovery that remains on solid
ground. []
"This week could be a pretty good one after the retreat we
saw last week. People will continue to focus on data,
particularly the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller home price
indexes tomorrow and U.S. non-farm payrolls on Friday," said
Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland Research.
But the Euro STOXX 50 failed to close above a key 38.2
percent retracement of the fall from its April high of 3,027.14
points to its May low of 2,448.10, a sign that stocks could soon
resume their recent retreat.
"We are still trading below the 200-day moving average (on
the Euro STOXX 50), reflecting weakness in the rebound. If the
market goes through it, the momentum in the market would look
more solid," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin
Dolphin.
The FTSEurofirst 300 is down 7.7 percent from its peak in
April, when worries intensified that the euro zone debt crisis
could erode economic growth in the region.
TELENOR GAINS
Among individual gainers, Telenor <TEL.OL> added 4.9 percent
after BofA Merril Lynch upgraded its recommendation on the
telecommunications firm to "buy" from "neutral", saying the
stock is exposed to the best trends in the sector.
Food producers were also higher, with Danone <DANO.PA>,
Nestle <NESN.VX> and Unilever <ULVR.L> up 0.4 to 2.4 percent.
Oil majors gained, led by a 1.2 percent rise in BP <BP.L>
which bounced back after dropping to a 14 year low on Friday.
On the economic front, the Bank for International
Settlements said governments must slash budget deficits
decisively and central banks should not wait too long to raise
borrowing costs as side effects from measures prescribed to
tackle the global recession may create the next crisis.
[]
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> gained 0.5 to 1.6 percent.
The Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Countries Index
<.TRXFLDPIPU> edged up 0.2 percent.
(Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson and Joanne Frearson;
Editing by David Cowell)
