* FTSEurofirst 300 index closes up 0.7 percent
* Banks boosted by forecast beating JPMorgan results
* HeidelbergCement rises as traders cite broker note By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, April 13 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Wednesday, with banking stocks boosted by forecast-beating results from Wall Street bank JPMorgan and strategists suggested there was further upside for the sector.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 0.7 percent at 1,135.24 points after a sell-off in the previous session when a bout of profit taking was sparked by Japan's worsening nuclear crisis.
Volume was 94 percent of its 90-day average.
"It is right to focus on financials as within Europe that has been the thing that has held the region back," Gary Baker, head of European Equity strategy at BofA Merrill Lynch said.
"We have turned a corner a little bit in banks and are closer to progress in the banking sector than we have been for the last couple of years. I do think financials offer decent upside."
U.S. bank JPMorgan, the first major Wall Street bank to report quarterly results, beat expectations with a 67 percent rise in profit.
The STOXX Europe 600 Banks index gained 0.6 percent, the second best performing sector in Europe this year, recovering from the previous session losses. Deutsche Bank, Barclays and HSBC rose 1 to 1.6 percent.
According to Thomson Reuters StarMine data, 12-month forward earnings growth for banks was at 23.3 percent, compared to the STOXX Europe 600 index at 12.8 percent.
More generally, strategists said there was further upward momentum for European stocks and that valuations were attractive.
Valuations on the STOXX Europe 600 index showed the one-year forward price-to-earnings stood at about 10.8 against a 10-year average of 13.5, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream.
"We've had lots of hiccups along the way, but we're still at mid-cycle. Valuations are still very supportive," said Karen Olney, head of thematic strategy at UBS.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.8 percent, Germany's DAX gained 1.1 percent and France's CAC 40 was 0.8 percent higher.
CONSTRUCTION STOCKS GAIN
Elsewhere, construction stocks were in demand. Germany's HeidelbergCement rose 4 percent and Swiss cement maker Holcim gained 4.4 percent, after broker Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the sector.
Positive broker notes also helped lift technology stocks. Alcatel-Lucent rose 7.5 percent after traders said Morgan Stanley raised its recommendation to "overweight" from "equal-weight".
ARM Holdings gained 6.8 percent after traders pointed to a Morgan Stanley note, which cited upbeat comments from Microsoft about an Internet Explorer 10 version which ran on an ARM-designed processor.
Buyers also targeted Reckitt Benckiser up 4.2 percent after Bernstein upgraded its rating to "outperform" from "market-perform" and JPMorgan raised its earnings estimates. (Additional reporting by Brian Gorman. Editing by Jane Merriman)