Europe Factors-Shares to open higher; rate decisions eyed

LONDON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - European shares are set to open
higher ahead of rate decisions from the Bank of England and the European Central
Bank on Thursday, with a surprise third-quarter profit by Alcoa (AA.N) late on
Wednesday seen boosting sentiment.

Financial spreadbetters expected Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE to open up 39 to
45 points, or as much as 0.9 percent, Germany's DAX .GDAXI to open 47 to 60
points higher, or as much as 1.1 percent, and France's CAC 40 .FCHI to rise 29
to 33 points, or as much as 0.9 percent.

Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.5 percent on Thursday, with shares of shipping
firms surging as a key freight index hit a seven-week high on hopes of fresh
Chinese demand.

The Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq indexes edged up on Wednesday with
investors responding positively to early earnings results as the quarterly
reporting period got under way.

After the close, U.S. stock futures rose slightly as aluminium company Alcoa
Inc (AA.N) released its results, marking the onset of major earnings
announcements. Shares in the company jumped 5.8 percent to $15.02 in after-hours
trade.

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares closed 0.4
percent lower at 988.76 points on Wednesday. The benchmark index is up 19
percent this year and has surged 53 percent since hitting a record low in early
March.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0512 GMT----------------------

LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1,057.58 0.27 % 2.86
NIKKEI .N225 9,820.78 0.22 % 21.18
MSCI ASIA EX-JP .MIASJ0000PUS 458.87 0.19 % 0.87
EUR/USD EUR= 1.4754 0.46 % 0.0068
USD/JPY JPY= 88.19 -0.44 % -0.3900
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.191 -- 0.01
10-YR BUND YLD EU10YT=RR 3.116 -- -0.01
SPOT GOLD XAU= $1,054.10 1.00 % $10.40
US CRUDE CLc1 $70.19 0.89 % 0.62

* US STOCKS-S&P, Nasdaq inch up as earnings season begins [ID:nN07489112]

* GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia shares up, Aussie dlr jumps on data [ID:nL887706]

* Nikkei rises 0.5 pct in cautious trade, shippers gain [ID:nT366243]

* FOREX-Dollar cedes ground as Aussie leads the pack [ID:nT358966]

* TREASURIES-Bonds rally on successful 10-year auction [ID:nN07568521]

* Oil rebounds above $70 on weak dollar, recovery hopes [ID:nSYD537234]

* PRECIOUS-Spot gold hits record above $1,050 [ID:nT359504]

* METALS-Copper up as dollar weakens, supply worries [ID:nSP434934]

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; editing by Simon Jessop)