European shares gain for fifth day, HSBC advances
* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.1 pct; gains for fifth day
* Financials among top gainers, HSBC up after results
* Commodity shares down as crude, metals prices fall
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - European shares rose for a fifth straight session on Tuesday as banks gained after HSBC (HSBA.L) said loan impairment allowances for its U.S. consumer finance business fell in the third quarter, the first fall since 2006.
At 0946 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.1 percent at 1,012.66 points after touching 1,014.83, the highest level in more than two weeks.
The index, which jumped 2 percent in the previous session, is up 22 percent in 2009 and has surged 57 percent since hitting a record low in early March.
Banks were among the top gainers, with HSBC rising 3.2 percent after it said its underlying third quarter profits were "significantly ahead" of a year ago. [ID:nLA616591]
Standard Chartered (STAN.L), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L), Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) and UBS (UBSN.VX) were up 0.2 to 2 percent.
Barclays Plc (BARC.L), however, fell 2.3 percent. It said strong investment banking helped limit a fall in profit in the third quarter and it expects bad debts to peak earlier than it had previously expected. [nLA601181]
European shares also got support from strong gains in the U.S. market on Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI hitting a 13-month high after the Group of 20 pledged to keep aid flowing to the world economy.
"Another triple digit rally in the States has given a bullish tone to trading this morning," said Brian Myers, analyst at ODL Securities.
"There is feeling that confidence is returning as we head in to the Christmas period," he added.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index .FTSE, Germany's DAX .GDAXI and France's CAC 40 .FCHI rose 0.2-0.3 percent.
