European shares post biggest gain in 4-1/2 months

LONDON Dec 1 (Reuters) - European stocks notched up their biggest one-day gain in four-and-a-half months on Tuesday, with banks rebounding as recent worries about Dubai's debt receded, and macroeconomic data further boosting sentiment.

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares rose 2.5 percent to a provisional close of 1,010.02 points, the biggest one-day percentage gain since July 15.

Banks added most points to the index, having been hit in recent days by worries over exposure to Dubai.

Banco Santander (SAN.MC), Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), HSBC (HSBA.L), Standard Chartered (STAN.L) and UBS (UBSN.VX) rose between 1.8 and 5 percent.

"It looks like (Dubai's debt) was a storm in a teacup," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist and head of research at Brewin Dolphin Securities, in London.

"But it's a reminder that you have these time bombs ticking away. They'll go off from time to time, though this one has not had a major impact."

He added: "I have been impressed by the resilience of the markets, and I think they may go sideways for a while, or they could see some profit-taking if central banks decide to raise interest rates."

Efforts by Dubai World to restructure about $26 billion in debt out of the estimated $59 billion it owes reassured investors that the emirate's debt problems can be contained.

Dubai World, the government-controlled conglomerate that led the transformation of Dubai into a regional hub for finance, investment and tourism, unveiled details of a restructuring plan late on Monday that would cover debt owed by its main property firms, Nakheel and Limitless. [ID:nSP5757] [ID:nGEE5AT1SZ]

The European benchmark is up more than 56 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as investors have seen several economies emerge from recession. Data on Tuesday showed that Switzerland became the latest to do so, growing at 0.3 percent in the third quarter.[ID:nGEE5B00A7] (Reporting by Brian Gorman) ((brian.gorman@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 9128; Reuters Messaging: brian.gorman.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))