Oil, HSBC help European shares bounce back

By Blaise Robinson

PARIS, May 12 (Reuters) - European shares gained ground early on Monday, making good some of the losses from the previous session, led by energy stocks on high oil prices, while banks inched up as HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted mixed quarterly results.

Shares in HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, gained 1.9 percent after it said its quarterly profit was better than a year earlier as growth in Asia and elsewhere helped counter a $3.2 billion bad-debt charge related to its U.S. consumer finance business.

At 0841 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.7 percent at 1,351.75 points. The index dropped 1.3 percent on Friday, hit by downbeat corporate results and inflation worries fuelled by record oil prices.

Investors were keeping a close eye on news of a major earthquake that shook China's Sichuan province.

"With another natural disaster in Asia, commodity prices could once again come to centre stage, as more relief may be needed, causing further increases in food prices," said Stephen Surpless, senior analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, in London.

It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties or damage from the tremor that rocked buildings in Shanghai, where trading was disrupted nearly half an hour before the stock market closed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC ended up 0.4 percent.

Energy shares were among the top positive weights on the index on Monday, with Total (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) up 1.8 percent and BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) up 1.1 percent. Oil traded at $125.35 a barrel, down on the day but not far from record highs.

French luxury goods group Hermes (HRMS.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) surged 10 percent as traders cited market speculation of stakebuilding in the company. Officials at Hermes could not be immediately reached for comment.