STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Shares stay firm as Wall St rises

European shares stay firm, with the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index up 1.5 percent, as U.S. stocks open higher.

Banks are among the top risers in Europe, tracking gains in U.S. financials after prominent bank analyst Meredith Whitney upgraded Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and gave bullish comments on the sector.

Barclays (BARC.L), Commerzbank (CBKG.DE), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L), UBS (UBSN.VX) and Banco Santander (SAN.MC) are up 1.8-4.2 percent.

In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI, the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rise 0.2-0.6 percent.

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