European shares advance; miners, banks support

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - European shares rebounded in early trade on Wednesday after slipping in the previous session as mining stocks tracked firmer metals prices and banks advanced after recent losses.

At 0815 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares rose 1.7 percent to 898.15 points, after slipping more than 4 percent in the previous session. The index has lost about 40 percent this year, hit by the credit crisis and resulting economic slowdown.

Mining stocks followed metals prices. Spot gold rose about 1 percent, platinum was up 2.5 percent, zinc advanced 1.7 percent and copper was up 0.5 percent.

BHP Billiton (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Vedanta Resources (VED.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Kazakhmys (KAZ.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Antofagasta (ANTO.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 0.7-4.8 percent.

Banking shares also rose, with Lloyds (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gaining 2.3 percent, HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) advancing 1.6 percent, UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rising 4.1 percent and Standard Chartered Bank (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) up 3.3 percent.

But investors remained cautious despite a rise in European stocks on mounting concerns of a deep global recession.

Surveys by business consultancy Deloitte showed that Europeans will limit spending on Christmas as they braced for a tough 2009, though shoppers in eastern countries were more optimistic than those in the west. [ID:nLB505510]

"It's going to be a bit soggy today," said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management.

"People are assuming things are bad, and they're having their assumptions thoroughly fulfilled."

Shares in Holcim (HOLN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's second-largest cement maker, fell 4.3 percent after it posted a 17 percent drop in third-quarter net profit and warned that business would be weak in the final quarter as global construction slows.

But France's electricity group EDF (EDF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 4.4 percent after it said nine-month sales were 45.6 billion euros, up 6.9 percent, and added it maintained full-year earnings target.

(Additional reporting by Brian Gorman)