* FTSEurofirst 300 little changed
* Lloyds rises for second day running
* Oils fall
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - European shares were little
changed in midmorning trade on Friday after sharp gains in the
previous session on data showing the U.S. had emerged from
recession, with firmer banks offsetting weaker energy stocks.
At 1003 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was virtually flat at 997.37 points, having
risen 1.8 percent on Thursday. The benchmark is up more than 54
percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as investors have
become more confident on the prospects for economic recovery.
The heavyweight banking sector was generally higher.
Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, Barclays <BARC.L>, Credit Suisse
<CSGN.VX>, Intesa Sanpaolo <ISP.MI>, Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>,
UBS <UBSN.VX> and UniCredit <CRDI.MI> rose between 0.4 and 2.6
percent.
Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> was up 6.4 percent, adding to
a 7.5 percent gain on Thursday, as investors expect the group to
avoid the UK government's toxic asset insurance scheme by
raising 21 billion pounds of new money.
Both Exane BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse upgraded Lloyds to
"neutral" from "underperform".
Bank of Ireland <BKIR.I> and Allied Irish Banks <ALBK.I> rose
10.9 and 7.7 percent respectively after the Irish parliament
completed the committee stage of talks to approve its "bad bank"
plan (NAMA), soothing jitters that the scheme faces delays.
Miners were higher, though copper gave back a little of
Thursday's strong gains.
Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto
<RIO.L>, Vedanta <VED.L> and Xstrata <XTA.L> rose between 0.6
and 1.9 percent.
"It will be more difficult for markets to rally further
now," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB
Stockbrokers. "You're not going to get the same positive
surprises in economic news. The U.S. GDP was good news on the
day, but the markets will remain worried about (monetary)
stimulus withdrawal."
The index is on course to end October flat, having fallen to
a three-week low earlier in the week.
Energy companies fell as crude prices <CLc1> slipped below
$80 a barrel. Total <TOTF.PA>, ENI <ENI.MI>, BP <BP.L> and Royal
Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> fell between 0.4 and 0.7 percent.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index <> rose 0.3
percent, Germany's DAX <> and France's CAC 40 <> fell
0.3 and 0.2 percent respectively.
ALCATEL-LUCENT FALLS
Telecommunications gear maker Alcatel-Lucent <ALUA.PA> fell
6.9 percent after posting its twelfth straight quarterly net
loss, hit hard by telecoms operators' sharp cutbacks in network
investments. []
British aeroplane parts supplier Meggitt <MGGT.L> rose 7.8
percent after it said civil aviation markets were showing signs
of stabilisation while military markets remained healthy, as it
looked forward to an air traffic recovery in 2010.
[]
The world's largest advertising group by revenue, WPP
<WPP.L>, rose 4.6 percent after posting third quarter
like-for-like revenue down 8.7 percent, at the higher end of
forecasts, and saying it would improve profitability in the
second half. []
In macroeconomic news, France's gross domestic product (GDP)
should grow as much or more in the third quarter than it did in
the second, Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said during a
visit to Hong Kong on Friday. The French economy emerged from
recession in the second quarter, growing 0.3 percent, and
surprising analysts.[]
Later in the day, investors' attention will switch to
personal income and spending data from the United States.
(editing by John Stonestreet)
