* FTSEurofirst 300 edges higher; gains 0.1 pct
* Commodity shares among top gainers; pharma down
* Volumes low as many markets including Germany closed
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Europe's leading share index rose
for a fourth straight session on Thursday and remained on track
to post its best yearly gains in a decade, but volumes were low
as several markets, such as Germany and Italy, were closed.
At 0915 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index <> rose 0.1
percent to 1,038.21 points after hitting its highest close in
nearly 15 months in the previous session.
Total volumes on the index, which is up 25 percent this year
and has surged 61 percent since hitting a record low in March,
were just 14 percent of its three-month daily average. The index
so far has recorded its best year since 1999, when it surged
nearly 34 percent.
"The trend in the market is still positive but we are at a
crossroad. If the market is going decisively further up then you
keep on being in that upward trend, technically," said Koen De
Leus, an economist at KBC Securities.
"But we see some hesitation for the last two months. The
economic momentum is slowing down and that tells that you really
have to take care."
Energy shares tracked crude oil prices <CLc1>, which rose
0.3 percent after surging more than 3 percent in the previous
day on a deeper-than-forecast drop in crude and fuel stocks in
the United States, the world's top energy consumer.
BP <BP.L>, BG Group <BG.L>, Tullow Oil <TLW.L>, Repsol
<REP.MC> and Total <TOTF.PA> added 0.3 to 0.7 percent.
HIGHER METAL
Miners got strength from higher metals prices. Anglo
American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>,
Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and Eurasian Natural
Resources <ENRC.L> rose 0.1 to 1.3 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index <> rose 0.2
percent, while France's CAC 40 <> was up 0.1 percent.
Markets in a number of European countries, including
Germany, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland,
were closed on Thursday. Euronext markets will close at 1300
GMT, while London markets will close at 1230 GMT.
Financial stocks were mixed. Standard Chartered <STAN.L>,
HSBC <HSBA.L>, Lloyds <LLOY.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Societe
Generale <SOGN.PA>, Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA> and Natixis
<CNAT.PA> fell 0.2 to 1 percent.
However, Barclays <BARC.L> was up 0.1 percent and Royal Bank
of Scotland <RBS.L> gained 0.5 percent. The Daily Express said
RBS was closing in on the sale of its asset management arm in a
deal said to be worth 30 billion pounds ($47.85 billion), with
Aberdeen Asset Management <ADN.L> believed to be the frontrunner
to buy the business.
Drugmakers fell. AstraZeneca <AZN.L> was down 0.1 percent,
while Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> fell 0.2 percent.
Vivendi <VIV.PA> was down 0.5 percent. The French media firm
boosted its stake in Brazilian telecom company GVT <GVTT3.SA> to
81.82 percent after exercising options it held on shares in the
company, it said in a filing on Wednesday. []
($1=.6269 Pound)
(Editing by Karen Foster)
