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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 04, 2012 9:41 AM IST

London: Europe shares rose in early trading on Friday, ahead of a key US employment report, with banks and miners gaining.

At 0813 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.3% at 993.48 points.

The European benchmark is up more than 53% from its lifetime low of 9 March, as investors have become more confident on the prospects for economic recovery.

Miners rose as gold prices hovered around $1,090 an ounce and copper prices rose. Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton and Vedanta rose between 0.7 and 1.3%.

Royal Bank of Scotland rose 2.2%. The bank reported an operating loss of £1.5 billion ($2.5 billion) in the third quarter as it took £3.3 billion of bad debts and profits at its investment bank arm more than halved from the previous quarter.

BNP Paribas, HSBC and Credit Suisse rose between 0.3 and 1.7%.

US stocks jumped on Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average 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 suggested a rebound in technology spending.

At 1330 GMT, investors’ attention will switch to the United States, where the key nom-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 at 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.”

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