* FTSEurofirst 300 rises 0.7 pct
* Miners up after strong China data
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Monday,
with miners gaining on higher metals prices after surprisingly
strong Chinese manufacturing data, and as the dollar weakened
ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's likely monetary easing.
At 0929 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 0.7 percent at 1,093.67 points.
The benchmark rose 2.4 percent in October, and is up around
70 percent from a lifetime low of March 2009, with several
economies having emerged from recession, boosted by stimulus
from governments and central banks worldwide.
China's factories ramped up their production last month and
were buoyed by an influx of new business, highlighting the
strength of the world's second-largest economy but also pointing
to price pressures. []
Miners to gain included Eurasian Natural Resources
Corp.<ENRC.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, Lonmin <LMI.L> and Xstrata
<XTA.L>, up between 1.8 and 3.4 percent.
On Wednesday, at the end of a two-day meeting, the Federal
Reserve is likely to announce further quantitative easing.
"The China data was good. You want demand strong. It's the
demand rather than the dollar you'd be worrying about," said
Philip Isherwood, European equities strategist at Evolution
Securities.
"The market is expecting QE, whether it is a large dollop or
in smaller amounts."
He added that the market would have to "wait to see what the
Fed does" to see whether the dollar would continue to weaken or
stabilise. A weaker dollar is likely to hurt European exporters.
Crude prices <CLc1> also gained on the weaker dollar,
topping $82. Energy companies to gain included Total <TOTF.PA>
and Repsol <REP.MC>, up 1.2 and 1.1 percent respectively. ENI
<ENI.MI> rose 1 percent, helped by an upgrade from Credit
Suisse.
RYANAIR FALLS
Among individual companies, Europe's biggest low-cost airline
Ryanair <RYA.I><RYA.L> fell 3.6 percent after second-quarter
profit trailed estimates, though it reported a 17 percent
increase in first half net profit and upgraded its full-year
earnings guidance. []
Serco <SRP.L> fell 5.7 percent after the Sunday Telegraph
reported that the UK government will order the outsourcing
company to explain why it contacted suppliers to demand a 2.5
percent "cash rebate" on their work this year or risk losing
future contracts. []
Bayer <BAYGn.DE> rose 2.9 percent higher after the company
said late on Sunday that a new stroke prevention drug developed
jointly with Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N> proves a safe alternative
to the standard treatment.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <>, Germany's DAX
<> and France's CAC40 <> rose between 0.9 and 1
percent.
Later in the session, investors' focus will switch to U.S.
PMI manufacturing and construction data, due at 1400 GMT, half
an hour after Wall Street opens. Other data due later this week
includes the non-farm payroll numbers on Friday.
(Editing by Louise Heavens)
