European shares briefly extend gains after US data

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - European shares briefly extended gains in afternoon trading on Thursday after data showed the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance fell for the second week in a row.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped last week to a seasonally adjusted 502,000, the lowest since January, from a revised 514,000 the prior week. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected initial claims to fall to 510,000 from an initially reported 512,000. [ID:nN11377609]

At 1334 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was flat at 1,013.98 points after rising to a high of 1,016.79 points earlier in the session.

Telecommunications shares were among the top gainers, with Vodafone (VOD.L), Telenor (TEL.OL), Teliasonera (TLSN.ST), Inmarsat (ISA.L) and Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) rising 0.6 to 5.9 percent. (Reporting by Atul Prakash)