Europe shares gain in early trade; jobs data eyed

                                
 * FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index rises 0.2 pct
                                
 * Banks rise
                                
 * Lafarge, L'Oreal drop after results 
                                
 
                                
 By Brian Gorman
                                
 LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Europe shares edged up in early
trading on Friday ahead of a key U.S. employment report, with
companies such as Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> and British
Airways gaining <BAY.L> after results.
                                
 At 0929 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top
European shares was up 0.2 percent at 992.54 points.
                                
 The European benchmark is up more than 53 percent from its
lifetime low on March 9, as investors have become more confident
on the prospects for economic recovery.
                                
  Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, majority-owned by the
British state, rose 4 percent after it more than halved its
operating loss to 1.5 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in the third
quarter as impairments fell. [ID:nL6671701]
                                
 Banking heavyweights which also rose included BNP Paribas
<BNPP.PA>, Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX>,
Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>, HSBC <HSBA.L> and UBS <UBS.AG>, up
between 0.9 and 3 percent.
                                
 The European banking sector <.SX7P> was up 159 percent from
the March low.
 U.S. stocks jumped on Thursday, with the Dow Jones
industrial average <.DJI> closing above 10,000 for the first
time in two weeks, as economic data boosted confidence in the
recovery and strong results from Cisco Systems <CSCO.O>
suggested a rebound in technology spending.
                                
 At 1330 GMT, investors' attention will switch to the United
States, where key non-farm payrolls data is due. According to a
Reuters poll, 175,000 jobs were lost in October, down from
263,000 in September.
                                
 "It's going to get tougher for the market to rise further as
economic surprises lessen," said Bernard McAlinden, investment
strategist, NCB Stockbrokers. "But a good labour report today
could see the market testing post-recovery highs soon. Cisco
showing top-line growth was a major factor. People already know
about cost-cutting."
                                
 Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE>, Germany's DAX
<.GDAXI> and France's CAC-40 <.FCHI> were up between 0.1 and 0.2
percent.
                                
 
                                
 LAFARGE FALLS 
                                
 Two major French companies were lower after results.
                                
 The world's biggest cement maker, Lafarge SA <LAFP.PA>, fell
2.9 percent after it was hit hard by the global recession in the
third quarter as sales and profits slumped, but it said recovery
would come to developed markets by the second half of 2010.
[ID:nL5438380]
                                
 French cosmetics giant L'Oreal <OREP.PA> fell 2.4 percent
after saying it saw no pick-up in consumer demand globally but
expected improved trading in the fourth quarter. [ID:nL5541699]
                                
 But French luxury group Hermes <HRMS.PA> rose 2.7 percent
after posting strong third-quarter sales, though it blamed weak
currencies against the euro for an expected 5 percent drop in
underlying profit this year. [ID:nL5586738]
                                
  British Airways <BAY.L> rose 6.8 percent. It swung to a
first-half pretax loss of 292 million pounds, as business class
passenger numbers continued to tumble. But broker BofA Merrill
Lynch, which has a "buy" recommendation on the stock, says the
latest data shows an encouraging trend in airline's traffic
numbers and notes that the carrier sees premium class yields
slowly improving. [ID:nL6071715]
 (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)