* FTSEurofirst 300 index up 0.3 pct
* Banks steady ahead of ECB's three-month tender
* AstraZeneca gains as U.S. court finds Crestor patent valid
* For up-to-the minute market news, click on []
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - European shares edged up on
Wednesday, rebounding after steep falls a day earlier, with
volatility expected as the quarter draws to an end, and with
some caution lingering over European banks' funding conditions.
By 0826 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <>
index of top shares was up 0.3 percent at 999.00 points, as
investors picked up beaten-down stocks after equities fell to a
three-week closing low on Tuesday.
Following gains in the last four quarters, the index has
lost 7.5 percent in the last three months, putting it on course
to post its biggest quarterly decline since the first quarter of
2009.
Analysts said poor macroeconomic data in recent days have
added to investor uncertainty over the pace of global economic
recovery, prompting cautious trading as the second-quarter draws
to a close.
"Markets are very sensitive to any signs that growth is
failing. There have been question marks over the big components
of global growth such as U.S. consumer demand and Chinese
demand... (and) there isn't a lot of good news," said Bernard
McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin.
Among individual movers, AstraZeneca <AZN.L> rose 9.7
percent after a U.S. judge ruled that the patent on its
multibillion-dollar cholesterol fighter Crestor was valid,
handing the drugmaker a huge victory. []
Banks were broadly higher, with BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, BBVA
<BBVA.MC> and Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> up 1 to 1.9 percent,
ahead of a 442 billion euros ($540.8 billion) repayment to the
European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday, which could potentially
cause a liquidity shortfall of more than 100 billion euros in
the financial system.
Markets will closely watch an ECB funding operation on
Wednesday to get the first indication of how dependent banks
still are on emergency loans.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC 40 <> rose 0.2 to 0.4 percent.
The Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Countries Index
<.TRXFLDPIPU> added 0.8 percent.
The Euro STOXX 50's <> traded at 2,570.9 points,
below its 23.6 percent Fibonacci retracement of around 2,585
from a high in April to a low in May, a move which signals more
losses, analysts said.
PORTUGAL TELECOM RISES
Among other movers, Portugal Telecom (PT) <PTC.LS> rose 5.4
percent, after Spain's Telefonica <TEF.MC> raised its offer for
PT's stake in Brazilian mobile phone company Vivo <VIVO4.SA>.
Telefonica added 0.7 percent.
On the downside, Austrian utility Verbund <VERB.VI> shed 5.6
after the company said it planned a 1 billion euro ($1.22
billion) share issue.
Later in the session, investors will focus on a private
sector jobs report from the United States, due at 1215 GMT, to
gauge the pace of recovery in the world's largest economy.
In Britain, house prices rose just 0.1 percent on the month
in June, down from a 0.5 percent rise in May, the Nationwide
building society said on Wednesday, in a further sign that the
housing market recovery is cooling. []
Highlighting the bumpy road ahead for economic recovery,
Bank of England policymaker Adam Posen said that the British
economy is in a tentative recovery but could still switch back
to recession. []
(Editing by Sharon Lindores)
($1=.8172 Euro)
