(Refiles to remove superfluous "has" in second paragraph)
* FTSEurofirst 300 closes 1 pct higher
* Gains for sixth week in seven
* Nokia leads techs higher; Dell, Intel also boost sector
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - European shares touched a
10-month high on Friday on optimism for a global economic
recovery and with Nokia
The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares rose 1 percent to 978.34 points. Over the week, the index climbed 1.2 percent, its sixth weekly gain in the last seven weeks.
The European benchmark index is up more than 51 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as investors have become more confident on the prospects of economic recovery.
"Things look good for the time being, but the higher we go the more we could be setting ourselves up for a disappointment," said Andy Lynch, a fund manager at Schroders.
"The world economy is doing well, French and German GDP are positive, but that's not surprising given the amount of stimulus being pumped into the market. I have a concern about what happens when the sugar rush is withdrawn, though that may be a problem for 2010, rather than now."
Nokia
STMicroelectronics
The sector was further boosted by upbeat statements from
U.S. bellwethers. Intel
Macroeconomic news was also mostly positive. U.S. consumer spending rose as expected in July, lifted by the government's "cash-for-clunkers" programme that fuelled demand for autos. The Commerce Department said spending rose 0.2 percent after rising by a revised 0.6 percent in June, previously reported as a 0.4 percent gain. [ID:nN28359458]
The European benchmark had risen to a 10-month high of 986.59 before gains were tempered by Reuters/University of Michigan surveys showing U.S. consumer confidence falling to its lowest level in four months in August on worries over high unemployment and dismal personal finances. [ID:nN28361747]
L'OREAL RISES
Among other individual movers, L'Oreal
French conglomerate Bouygues
Commerzbank
Intesa Sanpaolo SpA
Other banks to rise in the heavyweight sector included
Barclays
Miners rose as copper touched 11-month highs. BHP Billiton
A slew of macroeconomic data also signalled improving conditions in Europe. Britain's economy shrank a smaller-than-expected 0.7 percent in the second quarter. Euro zone economic sentiment, too, improved more than expected in August. [ID:nLS596076]
Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index closed 0.8 percent higher. It has gained 6.5 percent in August. The London market will be closed on Monday for a holiday.
Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> and France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> rose 0.9 and 1.2 percent, respectively.
"There is only one clear trend in the market and that's on the upside. People are coming back with a lot of inflows in favour of equities and outflows are coming from the money market," said Romain Boscher, head of equity management at Groupama Asset Management, in Paris. (Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz; editing by Karen Foster)