Financials, miners help European shares end higher

* FTSEurofirst 300 index ends 1.8 pct higher

* Miners track stronger metals prices

* Financials strengthen after previous session losses

By Atul Prakash

LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - European equities ended the first session of the quarter in positive territory, with strong metals prices on Wednesday boosting mining shares, while banks rose after slipping in four of the past seven days.

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares closed 1.8 percent higher at 865.66 points after falling 1.1 percent on the last day of the second quarter.

But the benchmark index, which slumped 45 percent in 2008, gained nearly 16 percent in the second quarter, its best performance since late 1999.

Miners got strength from a 3 percent rise in copper prices, 2 percent higher aluminium prices and a 6 percent hike in nickel.

BHP Billiton (BLT.L), Anglo American (AAL.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L), Xstrata (XTA.L) and Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC.L) rose between 2.5 and 6.3 percent.

India-focused mining group Vedanta (VED.L) rose 9.9 percent after the London-listed company said it has boosted the size of its share buy-back programme by 40 percent to $350 million.

"Resource stocks are a good barometer of global economic sentiment and today the miners and energy firms are the standout performers," said David Evans, analyst at BetOnMarkets.com.

Energy shares were among the top gainers as crude CLc1 jumped 2.5 percent to trade above $71 a barrel before surrendering gains in the late afternoon session.

BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSb.L), BG Group (BG.L), Tullow Oil (TLW.L), Repsol (REP.MC), Total (TOTF.PA) and StatoilHydro (STL.OL) added between 1.4 and 4.2 percent.

Among the banks, Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) surged 18.6 percent after the parliamentary parties in Germany's ruling coalition backed a plan to establish "bad banks" for struggling lenders, which the government hopes will spur lending and reinvigorate the economy. [ID:nL1168983]

Other banks also advanced, with Standard Chartered Bank (STAN.L), HSBC (HSBA.L), Barclays (BARC.L), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L), BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) and Deutsche Postbank (DPBGn.DE) up 1.4 to 8.8 percent.