Commods push European stocks to 13-mth closing high

By Joanne Frearson LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - European shares advanced for a fourth consecutive session to hit a 13-month closing high on Monday, boosted by commodity stocks, which tracked stronger crude and metal prices. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 1.5 percent at 1,034.45 points -- a level above last month's high of 1,031 points, which is roughly the 38.2 percent retracement of its slide from mid-2007. That was a bullish technical signal, implying a further rise to the 50 percent retracement at 1,140 points. The slope of the uptrend line from the March 2009 low suggests the new target will be hit in about two months. Macroeconomic data painted a mixed picture. U.S. retail sales grew more than expected in October, but the previous month's figures were revised sharply downward. The New York Federal Reserve said in a report that the manufacturing in New York State fell in November. "The market is up quite strong, with mining and commodity stocks leading the march. The market keeps shrugging off negative figures, and as long as it does so it is likely to move higher," said Manoj Ladwa, senior trader at ETX Capital. Miners featured among the biggest movers as a slide in the dollar boosted metal prices. Lonmin was up 9.3 percent after it said it planned to boost output by a fifth by 2013 as prices climb on shortages. Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton , Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, Rio Tinto and Xstrata gained 2.6 to 7.8 percent. CRUDE SURGES Energy stocks were in demand as crude prices rose 3.5 percent. BG Group, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total were up 1.2 to 2.4 percent. Banks were higher. HSBC, Banco Santander, Credit Suisse and UBS were up 1.4 to 2.6 percent. Daimler was up 4.4 percent after the chairman of UAE's Aabar Investments, Khadem al-Qubaisi, said the company was considering increasing its stake in the German carmaker. On the downside, Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz fell 3.6 percent after it posted an unexpected 3 percent drop at established stores in October, blaming weak sales in some of its major markets on the global downturn and knocking its shares. "While a 3 percent like-for-like decline in October may not appear a terribly poor figure, when set in the context of very strong German industry data, its own undemanding comparative and the very weak figures achieved in August and September under the influence of warm weather, it is fair to say that this is a big disappointment," Credit Suisse analysts said. Shares in France's Vivendi fell 2.6 percent, after investors fretted that it had overpaid to snatch Brazilian telecom company GVT from under the nose of Telefonica . Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was up 1.6 percent, Germany's DAX was 2.1 percent higher and France's CAC 40 was up 1.5 percent. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; editing by Simon Jessop) Keywords: MARKETS EUROPE STOCKS ============================================================= For rolling updates on what is moving European shares please click on ============================================================= For pan-Europeanmarket data and news, click on codes in brackets: European Equities speed guide................... FTSEurofirst 300 index.............................. DJ STOXX index...................................... Top 10 STOXX sectors........................... Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors...................... Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors................... Top 25 European pct gainers....................... Top 25 European pct losers........................ Main stock markets: Dow Jones............... Wall Street report ..... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... London report........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt market stories CAC-40................. Paris market stories... World Indices...................................... Reuters survey of world bourse outlook.......... Western European IPO diary........................... European Asset Allocation......................... Reuters News at a Glance: Equities............... Main currency report:............................... Keywords: MARKETS EUROPE STOCKS/ =2 ([e-mail]; [phone], Reuters Messaging:[e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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