European shares break losing streak; miners gain

LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - European shares 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 rose 0.7 percent to a provisional close of 822.56 points, after falling for five sessions in a row. But it ended below a session high of 829.88.

The benchmark index is up more than 27 percent from the lifetime low it hit in early March. But the rally stalled last month on concerns about the pace of global economic recovery and corporate profits. It 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 advanced as the price of copper and other metals rose sharply after recent weakness.

Anglo American (AAL.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and Xstrata (XTA.L) rose between 2.5 and 5.4 percent.

Fresnillo (FRES.L), the world's largest primary silver producer, rose 10.2 percent after Citigroup raised its rating to "buy" from "hold".

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

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]

(Reporting by Brian Gorman)