* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.8 pct, rebounds from 10-week low
* Alcoa's results ease fears; boost miners
* Defensive pharmas, food stocks slip
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Blaise Robinson
PARIS, July 9 (Reuters) - European stocks rose in early
trade on Thursday, halting a sharp five-session losing streak,
as forecast-beating results from U.S. bellwether Alcoa <AA.N>
calmed fears over the incoming earnings season.
At 0748 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 0.8 percent at 823.44 points, bouncing
back from a 10-week low on Wednesday.
Miners and steelmakers were among the biggest gainers, with
Xstrata <XTA.L> up 1.5 percent, ArcelorMittal <ISPA.AS> up 3.1
percent, BHP Billiton <BLT.L> up 2.5 percent and Anglo American
<AAL.L> up 4.2 percent.
"There has been nothing reassuring in macro data lately, so
people are really hoping for good surprises on the earnings
front," said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading,
at Global Equities, in Paris.
"We're still in a downward trend, with a lot of 'puts' from
institutional investors, so if we don't get better-than-expected
results and positive comments from companies, stocks are heading
for another 10 percent drop."
Kicking off the much-awaited earnings season, U.S. aluminium
major Alcoa Inc reported a third consecutive quarterly loss on
Wednesday, but cost cuts helped the company beat estimates by a
large margin.
Alcoa's CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said there were signs that weak
demand for aluminium -- which has prompted production cuts and
sinking metals prices in the last nine months -- might be
easing.
Alcoa's shares traded in Frankfurt <ALU.F> were up 7.4
percent.
Around Europe, the UK's FTSE 100 index <> gained 0.5
percent, Germany's DAX index <> rose 1.1 percent, and
France's CAC 40 <> added 0.6 percent.
German business software maker SAP <SAPG.DE> rose 3.7
percent, after Banc of America-Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock
to "buy" from "neutral".
"Given the low expectation level we do not see negative
surprises from the second quarter," the broker wrote in a note.
Shares in pharmaceutical and food companies slipped, with
GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> down 0.8 percent, and Unilever <ULVR.L>
down 0.9 percent.
On the macroeconomic front, data showed German imports fell
by more than exports rose in May, pushing the trade surplus
higher than expected to 10.3 billion euros ($14.34 billion) and
lending some support to hopes the country's export engine may be
firing up again. []
EYES ON BOE
"This gives hope that exports will rise in the coming
months," said Thorsten Polleit, economist at Barclays Capital.
"This isn't the start of an upswing, however, but rather a
recovery from a low level. The economies of many important
trading partners remain weak."
Later in the session, investors' focus will turn to the Bank
of England's interest rate decision, due at 1100 GMT. According
to a Reuters poll, the Bank of England will leave rates
unchanged and is coming to the end of a quantitative easing
programme that economists say will prove to have been effective.
[]
After plummeting to a record low in early March, the
FTSEurofirst 300 surged 38 percent during the spring. But the
sharp rally stalled last month and stocks have given up some of
their gains on concerns about the economic recovery and
corporate profits, with the FTSEurofirst 300 down 7.4 percent
since June 10.
($1=.7184 euros)
(Additional reporting by Chris Steitz and Brian Rohan in
Frankfurt; Editing by Mike Nesbit)
