European shares edge up, led by TNT Express

PARIS Nov 16 (Reuters) - European stocks edged higher on Friday, following the previous session's sell-off, led by Dutch delivery group TNT Express after it sold off its airlines unit.

Persistent concerns over how the U.S. government will address the looming 'fiscal cliff' of expiring tax breaks and spending cuts, as well as how Greece will fund itself, were set to crimp gains, however.

At 0815 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.2 percent at 1,080.43 points, after losing 0.9 percent and hitting a two-month low on Thursday.

"There are quite a few headwinds in the short term: the U.S. fiscal cliff, Middle-East tensions, Spain's bailout or no bailout, Greece's troubles... that's why people have some hesitation," said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading, at Global Equities.

"I think that it's time to scoop up stocks, with an horizon of at least six months, although with some put spreads to protect the portfolio in case of a 5 percent dip before the end of the year."