Miners hold sway to lift European shares

                                
   * FTSEurofirst 300 index gains 0.2 percent
                                
 * Industrials shares fall as results disappoint
                                
 * Electrolux dives on dividend dismay
                                
 
                                
 By Joanne Frearson
                                
 LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - European shares edged higher on
Wednesday, with miners gaining as copper remained near record
highs on supply concerns, though weak results from engineering
firms Atlas Copco <ATCOa.ST> and Sandvik <SAND.ST> weighed.
                                
 The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
shares closed up 0.2 percent at 1,162.39 points, after Tuesday's
biggest gain in three weeks.
                                
 "Rising commodity prices are continuing to hurt companies.
This could be a sign analysts will start to revise forecasts,"
Koen De Leus, strategist at KBC Securities Bolero in Brussels,
said.
                                
 Sandvik and Atlas Copco fell 3 and 1.6 percent respectively
after results missed expectations, with higher raw material
costs having an impact.
                                
 Truckmaker Scania <SCVb.ST> lost 2 percent after a
weaker-than-expected rise in quarterly earnings raised doubts
about further margin improvements. [ID:nLDE7110IM]
                                
 However, miners benefited from firmer metals prices, with
copper <CMCU3> just off $10,000 a tonne on supply concerns.
                                
 The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources <.SXPP> gained 2.2
percent and ENRC <ENRC.L> 3.8 percent after it said ferroalloys
production grew in the fourth quarter. [ID:nLDE7101UE]
                                
 Investor confidence improved in euro peripheral countries
after a source said serious consideration was being given to
letting the euro zone rescue fund buy debt from distressed
countries. [ID:nLDE7111OP]
                                
 Spain's IBEX 35 <.IBEX> gained 0.4 percent, Portugal's PSI
20 <.PSI20> was up 0.3 percent and Italy's benchmark <.FTMIB>
rose 0.6 percent.
                                
 
                                
 ELECTROLUX UNPLUGGED
                                
 World number two white goods maker Electrolux <ELUXb.ST>
dropped 7.9 percent after saying it would not give money back to
shareholders via a hoped-for special dividend. [ID:nLDE711080]
                                
 Britain's Imperial Tobacco <IMT.L> jumped 5.9 percent after
the world's fourth-biggest cigarette maker returned to volume
growth in the last quarter of 2010. [ID:nLDE7100T0]
                                
 "Viewed in aggregate, we think this should put a stop to the
recent rot in the share price and create a platform for a more
balanced ticket of top-line delivery in FY11," Investec
Securities said in a note to clients.
                                
 On the technical front, the Euro STOXX 50 <.STOXX50E> was up
0.2 percent at 3,012.70, near its 3,044.37 high of January 2010.
"Unless we continue to get extremely good economic data and
corporate earnings, we could be on course for a correction," De
Leus said.
                                
 Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index gained 0.7
percent, Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> was flat and France's CAC 40
<.FCHI> was down 0.2 percent.
                                
(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by David Hulmes)