European shares hit 3-week high; banks lead

(Corrects spelling of Credit Agricole in first paragraph)

LONDON Nov 11 (Reuters) - Europe shares gained in early trade on Wednesday, with France's Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) among banks gaining after reporting results, and with sentiment lifted by upbeat Chinese macro data. At 0808 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.8 percent at 1,017.99 points, hitting a three-week high.

The European benchmark is up more than 57 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as investors have become more confident on the prospects for economic recovery.

Credit Agricole, France's biggest retail bank, rose 3.9 percent after posting a widely expected fall in third quarter profit. [ID:nL9477373] Other banks to gain included BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Banco Santander (SAN.MC), HSBC (HSBA.L) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), up between 0.8 and 1.8 percent. Data showed Chinese factory output growth leapt to a 19-month high in October, signalling that the world's third-biggest economy has put the worst of the global economic crisis behind it.

"The Chinese data has helped, and you've had an accumulation of strong economic and corporate data in the United States," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers, in Dublin.

"We're in a cyclical bull market that's not very mature. The market was trying to correct, but the data has been too good." (Reporting by Brian Gorman)