* FTSEurofirst 300 up 1.1 pct, tracking Wall St, Asia gains
* Energy stocks gain as oil price tops $65.5/bbl
* Higher metals prices lift mining shares; BHP up 3.4 pct
* Banks claw back Thursday's losses; UBS up 2.9 pct
By Peter Starck
FRANKFURT, May 29 (Reuters) - European shares advanced early
on Friday, with gains virtually across the board, after U.S.
stocks climbed overnight and Asian markets followed suit, with
the focus on U.S. economic data due later in the session.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 1.1 percent at 869.31 points. It closed
1.2 percent lower on Thursday, having fallen as much as 2
percent earlier in the session.
"We trade in a narrow range, up and down, without any clear
direction," said Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein, equity strategist at
Postbank in Bonn, Germany.
The European benchmark index lost 45 percent in 2008 and
fell further early this year, hitting a lifetime low on March 9.
It rose 36 percent between that day and May 7, and has remained
rangebound between about 823 and 878 points since then.
"We have lost the triggers from the company side ... on the
company side it is quiet," Sonnenschein said, referring to the
end of the first-quarter corporate earnings season.
"It's a mood of wait and see. There are no drivers to push
the markets down but there's also no strong news to push the
markets up."
LandesBank Berlin (LBB) pinpointed 2,500-2,600 points as a
key area for the DJ EuroSTOXX 50 <>, which was up 1.0
percent at 2,478.05 points.
"If it were able to jump over that hurdle, the charts would
improve clearly, boding for a new technical upward potential,"
LBB said.
Energy stocks <.SXEP> drew strength from a rise in the price
of crude oil <CLc1> to above $65.5 a barrel, putting the "black
gold" on track for its largest monthly percentage gain in more
than a decade. []
Total <TOTF.PA> rose 1.9 percent, ENI <ENI.MI> advanced 0.8
percent and BP <BP.L> put on 0.6 percent.
JAPANESE DATA SURPRISE
Japanese factory output rose 5.2 percent in April, the
biggest monthly gain since 1953, and sharply higher than the
median market forecast for a 3.2 percent rise.
Manufacturers surveyed by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry expected their output to jump 8.8 percent in May
and a further 2.7 percent in June. []
The data fuelled a rally in copper prices, which rose to a
three-year high []. Gold prices hit a three-month
high. []
Mining shares <.SXPP> rallied as a result. BHP Billiton
<BLT.L> was up 3.4 percent, Xtrata <XTA.L> added 4.5 percent,
Anglo American <AAL.L> gained 2.6 percent and Randgold <RRS.L>
advanced 5.3 percent.
Among steelmakers, ArcelorMittal <ISPA.AS> rose 2.7 percent
and Salzgitter <SZGG.DE> traded 3.4 percent higher.
Banks <.SX7P> reversed Thursday losses, with UBS <UBSN.VX>
adding 2.9 percent, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA> up 2.4 percent,
Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> rising 2.3 percent and Barclays
<BARC.L> 1.7 percent higher.
Insurers <.SXIP> were also in the black on the DJ Stoxx
index after a series of sector rating and price target upgrades
by Goldman Sachs. []
Irish Life and Permanent <IPM.I> was up 3.5 percent,
Trygvesta <TRYG.CO> rose 2.1 percent, Prudential <PRU.L> gained
2.4 percent and AXA <AXAF.PA> added 1.8 percent.
Shares in pharmaceuticals maker Bayer <BAYG.DE> rose 3.1
percent after news that U.S. regulators have asked for more
information before possible approval for anticoagulant Xarelto.
Morgan Stanley said approval for Xarelto in the United
States is expected in the second half of 2009 and that the drug
has 2 billion to 3 billion euros annual revenue potential, which
could be worth 7 euros per share.
U.S. Q1 GDP data is due at 1230 GMT, Chicago PMI at 1345 GMT
and the University of Michigan sentiment indicator at 1355 GMT.
(Editing by Simon Jessop)
