FRANKFURT, July 21 (Reuters) - European shares rose for the seventh straight session on Tuesday, led by commodity, insurance and health care stocks while banks and mobile phone maker Nokia fell.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended unofficially up 0.8 percent at 888.36 points -- its highest close since Jan. 6.
Credit Suisse in a global equity strategy note upgraded equities to "overweight".
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the outlook for the U.S. economy appeared to be improving.
Some bellwether U.S. companies, notably Caterpillar, reported quarterly earnings above market expectations, helping U.S. stocks eke out minor gains by the end of the European trading day.
In Europe, energy stock gained on the back of crude oil prices rising to a two-week high above $65 a barrel.
Total was up 1.8 percent, ENI rose 1.2 percent and StatoilHydro also added 1.2 percent.
Copper prices also advanced, lifting miners in the DJ STOXX European basic resources index. Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto rose between 2.3 and 4.1 percent.
Among insurers, Generali jumped 3.7 percent on a price target upgrade from Banc of America-Merrill Lynch, and AXA rose 3.4 percent.
Banks were among the top losers, with CS Group down 3.6 percent, BBVA shedding 1.7 percent, BNP Paribas falling 1.7 percent, UBS dropping 1.4 percent and Barclays closing 1.1 percent lower.
Nokia lost 2.5 percent after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to "underweight" from "overweight". (Reporting by Peter Starck)