* FTSEurofirst 300 closes 1.4 percent higher
* Financials, mining stocks among top gainers
* Swedbank jumps 12.6 percent on broker updates
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - European equities ended higher on Tuesday after hitting a two-week low in the previous session, with stronger crude oil prices supporting energy shares and Swedbank leading the banking sector higher.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares came under some pressure after data showed new U.S. housing starts and permits unexpectedly fell in July, but moved back up to close 1.4 percent higher at 934.56 points.
The index, which fell 2 percent on Monday, is up 12 percent this year and has soared 44 percent since a record low in March.
Banks topped the gainers list. HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland , Lloyds, UBS, Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered rose 1.9-3.5 percent.
Swedbank jumped 12.6 percent a day after the bank surprised markets with a $2.1 billion rights issue to boost its balance sheet hit by bad debts in the Baltics, which triggered rating upgrades from a number of brokers.
Some analysts said the market was prone to profit-taking in the near term, with concerns rising that the market had gone ahead of the global economic recovery.
"Since the big part of the results season is over, the market will focus on the macro-economic side," said Dang Chicuong, equity analyst at Richelieu Finance, in Paris.
"Sentiment in the market is that we went too far too fast so may be we could see some profit taking in the near term."
Data showed German analyst and investor sentiment rose sharply in August to its highest level in over three years, in one of the clearest signs yet of rising optimism about the outlook for Europe's largest economy.
In the United States, ground breaking for new homes fell unexpectedly in July, but a rise in single-family home construction for a fifth straight month kept hopes alive the economy was poised to recover from recession.
"The housing data summarises the uncertainty that still surrounds the housing market," said an analyst in London.
"The market is likely to remain volatile and the volatility is being added to by the traditional August holiday season. The market is expected to trade sideways for the next two to three weeks, with a downward bias," he added.
FIRMER CRUDE HELPS ENERGY
Energy stocks were helped by a 2.5 percent jump in crude prices. BP, BG Group, Tullow Oil, Repsol, Total and StatoilHydro added between 0.5 and 1.8 percent.
Miners gained ground, with Rio Tinto up 1.7 percent after agreeing to sell its Alcan packaging unit for about $2 billion to Australia's Amcor. Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Xstrata rose 0.4-2.2 percent.
Continental surged 17.3 percent as Schaeffler announced a 12 billion euro ($17 billion) refinancing deal that eases the German ball-bearing maker's debt problems and moves it a step closer to merging with Continental.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 all rose 0.9 percent.
"Coming hot on the heels of yesterday's worse-than-expected growth figures from Japan, this news (U.S. home starts data) has served to remind investors that there is still an alternative to an unmitigated upward trajectory for global economies," said Tim Hughes, head of sales trading at IG Index.
"There has been evidence over recent months that we are past the worst, but it could be a long climb back to normality." (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)