European shares advance as financials, miners gain

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - European equities extended previous session's sharp gains on Tuesday, lead by banks and miners, with investors keenly awaiting quarterly results from companies such as Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Intel (INTC.O).

At 0717 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.5 percent at 833.90 points after surging 2 percent in the previous session. The index, which slumped 45 percent in 2008, is up 29 percent since falling to a lifetime low in early March.

Financial shares were in demand, with Standard Chartered (STAN.L), HSBC (HSBA.L), Barclays (BARC.L), Lloyds (LLOY.L), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) up 0.7-2.7 percent.

"We are going into the earnings season so the optimists will look for signs of a confirmation of recovery," said Jonathan Lawlor, head of European research at Fox-Pitt, Kelton.

"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."

Miners got strength from higher metals prices. BHP Billiton (BLT.L), Anglo American (AAL.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L), Xstrata (XTA.L) and Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC.L) rose 1.1-3.2 percent.

Q-Cells (QCEG.DE), the world's biggest maker of solar cells, fell 11.3 percent after it withdrew its full-year sales outlook, expecting a substantial operating loss in the second quarter, as market environment remained dire. [ID:nLE511955]

Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index .FTSE, Germany's DAX .GDAXI and France's CAC 40 .FCHI were up 0.1-0.2 percent. (Reporting by Atul Prakash)