* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.3 pct; hits 1-year high
* Banks advance, sector index up 177 pct from March lows
* Beverages, pharma stocks rise; miners under pressure
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on []
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - European shares hit a one-year
high for a second straight session on Thursday, with strong
earnings from companies including JPMorgan <JPM.N> and a surge
in U.S. stocks boosting market sentiment.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
was up 0.3 percent at 1,019.42 points by 0836 GMT after rising
to 1,021.63, the highest level in 12 months.
The index, which jumped 2.1 percent in the previous session,
is up 23 percent this year and has surged 58 percent since
hitting a record low in early March.
Banks <.SX7P>, which have surged 177 percent since hitting a
low in March, extended gains. Barclays <BARC.L>, Royal Bank of
Scotland <RBS.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Societe Generale
<SOGN.PA> and Natixis rose between 0.1 percent and 1.1 percent.
Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> was up 1 percent. British
wealth manager Rathbone Brothers <RAT.L> said it is in talks to
buy assets, principally Lloyds' Bank of Scotland portfolio
management service. []
"Momentum is great," said Koen De Leus, economist at KBC
Securities.
"The market at the moment is driven by liquidity. On the
earnings side, every one thinks that financial results are going
to be better than expected."
Investors awaited more earnings results later in the day
from companies including Goldman Sachs <GS.N>, Citigroup <C.N>,
Google <GOOG.O>, International Business Machine <IBM.N> and
Nokia <NOK1V.HE>.
Sentiment also improved after the Dow Jones industrial
average <> pierced the 10,000 level on Wednesday for the
first time in a year on surprisingly robust company results and
better-than-expected retail sales.
BEVERAGES, DRUGMAKERS ADVANCE
Beverage shares were in demand, with Diageo <DGE.L>, Pernod
Ricard <PERP.PA>, Carlsberg <CARLb.CO> and Heineken <HEIN.AS>
rising between 0.4 percent and 2.2 percent.
Anheuser-Busch InBev <ABI.BR> gained 0.5 percent. The
world's largest brewer agreed to sell breweries in nine eastern
European countries to CVC Capital Partners for an initial $2.23
billion, passing its target for divestments since its merger a
year ago. []
Drugmakers also advanced, with GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>,
Merck <MRCG.DE>, Novartis <NOVN.VX>, Novo Nordisk <NOVOb.CO>,
Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> and Shire <SHP.L> rising 0.5 to 1.1
percent.
Insurers rose on positive market sentiment. Old Mutual
<OML.L>, Prudential <PRU.L>, Standard Life <SL.L> and Legal &
General <LGEN.L> were 0.2 to 1.7 percent higher.
Miners came under pressure as key base metals prices fell.
BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>
and Eurasian Natural Resources <ENRC.L> fell 0.2-0.8 percent.
In industry news, Mining group Xstrata <XTA.L> gave up
pursuit of rival Anglo American <AAL.L> due to "value" issues
after many Anglo shareholders rejected its merger of equals
proposal and demanded a premium. []
Xstrata was down 1 percent, while Anglo American fell 2.3
percent.
(editing by John Stonestreet)
