Banks extend rally, pushing Europe stocks higher

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - European shares extended gains in Friday afternoon, with banks rising further after Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) unveiled better-than-expected second-quarter results.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares added 1 pecent to 1,157.82 after jumping to 1159.27 earlier. Beaten-down banks continued their rally with the DJStoxx European banks adding 4.2 percent. UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) climbed 7.4 percent, HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) surged 4 percent and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was up 4 percent.

For further details, see [ID:nN18431251] and [ID:nL18873962] (Reporting by Patrizia Kokot)