* European shares track Wall St rally
* Inflation fears soothed by retreating oil, U.S. data
* Falling crude takes puff out of oil shares
By Rebekah Curtis
LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - European stocks closed up on
Friday, spurred by a rebound in banks and tracking a rally on
Wall Street as retreating oil prices and U.S. data eased
inflation concerns.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
ended 0.5 percent higher at 1,267.36 points, reversing early
losses and way off the day's low of 1,247.54 points.
But the index fell on six of the last eight sessions and
ended the week with a 1.3 percent loss. It is down 5 percent in
June.
"At one stage earlier in the week it really did feel that
the market was out of control," said Mike Lenhoff, chief
strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
"We could see a decent rebound looking into next week."
Swiss lender UBS <UBSN.VX> was one of the major positive
weights for the index. It rose 5.2 percent after saying it had
completed a 16 billion franc ($15.4 billion) rights issue and
that subscription rights were exercised for 99.4 percent of all
new shares issued.
Commerzbank <CBKG.DE> added 5.9 percent and Dresdner Bank
<ALVG.DE> rose 4.1 percent after a source from Commerzbank's
supervisory board said the two banks are in advanced talks about
a merger.
HBOS <HBOS.L> surged 13.7 percent. Britain's financial
watchdog brought in tougher disclosure requirements for
investors taking short positions in companies during a rights
issue, easing the threat of aggressive selling of HBOS stock
next month.
Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> added 3.2 percent after
boosting its finances with the sale of UK leasing firm Angel
Trains to a fund managed by Australia's Babcock & Brown <BNB.AX>
for $7 billion, including debt.
Wall Street indexes jumped between 1 and 1.7 percent as
inflation concerns eased after a U.S. report showed May's
consumer prices, excluding food and energy, rose according to
economists' expectations.
"Without a good lead from Wall Street, these markets won't
go anywhere," Brewin Dolphin's Lenhoff said.
REGIONS GAIN
Around Europe, Germany's DAX index <> gained 0.8
percent, while Britain's FTSE 100 <> and France's CAC 40
<> both put on 0.2 percent.
A fall in crude prices towards $135 a barrel alleviated
inflation concerns in the wider market, but bit into heavyweight
oil shares.
Total <TOTF.PA> and Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> both shed
about 1 percent.
BP <BP.L> dropped 1.5 percent, also under pressure after
four Russian billionaire partners in its troubled Russian joint
venture threatened to sue the British group after it rejected
their demand for more boardroom clout.
Telecoms service stocks were standout gainers on the back of
a bullish note from Goldman Sachs, which reiterated its
"attractive" stance on the industry and named Vodafone <VOD.L>
one of its "Best Buy" ideas. Vodafone rose 2.4 percent.
Michelin <MICP.PA> and Peugeot <PEUP.PA> rose 7 and 4
percent respectively after Goldman added the stocks to its
"Conviction Buy List".
EDF <EDF.PA> fell 5.2 percent after a source close to the
matter said it could slightly raise its bid for British Energy
<BGY.L> above 700 pence a share. British Energy lost 0.9
percent. []
(Additional reporting by Patrizia Kokot; editing by Rory
Channing)
