European shares halt sell-off ahead of Fed

* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.4 pct

* Eyes on FOMC for clues on further support measures

* Worries on Greek debt crisis, weak PMI limit rebound

* Analysts continue to cut company earnings forecast

By Blaise Robinson

PARIS, Nov 2 (Reuters) - European stocks rose early on Wednesday, as hopes the Federal Reserve may hint of further measures to boost the U.S. economy overshadowed brewing concerns over the euro zone debt crisis and helped shares halt a sharp two-day sell-off.

At 0916 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent at 965.89 points after losing 5.5 percent in the past two sessions, hit by nagging fears over Italy's finances and Greece's surprise call for a referendum on a bailout plan.

Banking stocks regained ground after Tuesday's plunge, with Societe Generale up 2.6 percent and UniCredit up 5.1 percent.

The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee concludes its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, and a number of investors expect it to offer hints of further monetary easing to revive the U.S. economic recovery.

CM-CIC strategist Francois Duhen, however, sees scope for disappointment from the FOMC.

"The latest data on the U.S. economic activity came as better than expected and doesn't justify further support measures. On the other hand, inflationary pressures are still clearly above the central bank's target," he said.

Around Europe, UK's FTSE 100 index was up 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX index up 0.8 percent, and France's CAC 40 up 1 percent.

But gains were fragile, while Italian 10-year government bond yields remained above 6 percent and the Euro STOXX 50 volatility index , Europe's main barometer of anxiety known as VSTOXX index, remained above 40, signalling investors' reluctance to come back to risky assets.

"The fears about the fate of the banking system remain high, as Greece's membership to the European Union is in the balance. Without the bailout plan, the country will go bankrupt," Sebastien Barthelemi, analyst at Louis Capital Markets, said.

Macro data also limited the gains on Wednesday, with figures showing the downturn in euro zone manufacturing in October was deeper than previously reported.

The final Markit Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for last month, which gauges changes in activity levels across thousands of euro zone manufacturers, fell to 47.1, revised down from a preliminary reading of 47.3 and down from 48.5 in September.

Investors also found little comfort on the earnings front, with global bellwether Sony Corp saying it's now headed for its fourth straight annual net loss instead of a profit.

According to data from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, analysts have made further cuts to consensus earnings growth forecasts for STOXX Europe 600 companies for 2011, as the euro zone debt crisis dampens the outlook for corporate profit.

The consensus year-on-year average earnings growth for 2011 is reduced to 4.6 percent, from a previous 5.2 percent last week. At the start of the year, analysts were expecting average earnings growth of 15.4 percent for 2011.