European shares break losing streak; miners gain

* FTSEurofirst 300 gains 0.8 pct after five days of decline

* Miners up on stronger metals prices, Alcoa results

* U.S. jobless claims lower than forecast

By Brian Gorman

LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - European share markets closed higher on Thursday, bouncing after five days of losses, with miners and banks among those regaining some lost ground, .

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.8 percent at 823.32 points, below its high for the day of 829.88 and after falling for five sessions in a row.

The benchmark is up more than 27 percent form the lifetime low in early March but the rally stalled last month on concerns about the pace of global economic recovery and corporate profits. The index hit a 10-week closing low on Wednesday.

"Markets are gaining back some of the losses, but the choppy performance will continue," said Gerhard Schwarz, head of global equity strategy at UniCredit, in Munich.

The market is likely to stay in a consolidation phase for some time, rather than see any major correction on the downside, he added.

Miners rose as the price of copper and other metals rose sharply, following recent weakness.

Anglo American (AAL.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and Xstrata (XTA.L) rose between 2.6 and 5.6 percent.

Fresnillo (FRES.L) rose 10.1 percent after Citigroup raised its rating to "buy" from "hold".

The sector was also boosted by strong results from U.S. aluminium giant Alcoa (AA.N), which opened the second-quarter reporting season late on Wednesday.

Investors continue to face mixed signals on the strength of economic recovery. The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week though the data was distorted by an unusual pattern of layoffs in the automotive industry, which amplified the decline. [ID:nN09442078]

One reason for the market's poor performance in recent days was U.S. unemployment numbers released on July 2 coming in well above forecasts.