European stocks bolstered by banks, Goldman eyed

* FTSEurofirst 300 index gains 1.1 pct

* Banks, commodity, auto shares rise ahead of key results

* Q-Cells tumbles on sales outlook

* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]

By Simon Falush

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Strength in banks powered gains in European equities which rallied for a second day on Tuesday, ahead of results from U.S. bellwethers Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Intel. (INTC.O)

By 1023 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares were up 1.1 percent at 839.02 points after surging 2 percent in the previous session.

The index, which slumped 45 percent in 2008, is up about 30 percent since falling to a lifetime low in early March.

Financial shares were the biggest drivers of growth, with Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Commerzbank (CBKG.DE), HSBC (HSBA.L), Barclays (BARC.L), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L), Bank of Ireland (BKIR.I) and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) rising between 1.9 and 7.9 percent.

Analysts said banks were being boosted on anticipation that Goldman Sachs's second-quarter results would shine.

"All eyes are in bank results across the pond, and there are rumours that Goldman will report strong profits, which is leading to a lot of bidding activity for banks," said Robert Quinn, European strategist at Standard & Poor's equity research.

As well as Goldman Sachs, Intel and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) will report later in the session, while other companies announcing results this week include Bank of America Corp, (BAC.N) JPMorgan, (JPM.N) Citigroup (C.N) and General Electric (GE.N).

Low trading volumes and uncertainty on the corporate and economic outlook mean that these results are likely to drive relatively sharp equity movements, analysts said.

"We could have continuing volatility. It is the lowest period of activity in the year apart from the Christmas period, so volumes should be low. You might see some sharp moves," said Jonathan Lawlor, head of European research at Fox-Pitt, Kelton.

Autos stocks were also buoyed by the slightly more optimistic stance investors were taking on the economic outlook. Renault, REN.PA Peugeot, (PEUP.PA) and BMW (BMWG.DE) added between 3.2 and 4.8 percent.

European equities briefly pared gains after ZEW data showed German analyst and investor sentiment fell in July for the first time since October 2008, but investors soon shrugged off the weaker-than-expected data. [ID:nDEG003575]