* FTSEurofirst 300 gains 1.2 percent; snaps two-day losing run
* Commodity shares following stronger crude, metals prices
* L'Oreal jumps 6.6 percent after results
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By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - European shares climbed in morning trade on Friday after two days of losses, led higher by commodity and banking stocks, with investors awaiting more macroeconomic data for clearer near-term market direction.
At 0837 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1.2 percent at 980.46 points after falling 0.5 percent on Thursday. It has risen 5 percent in August and is on track for a second consecutive month of gains.
The index, which slumped 45 percent in 2008, is up 17 percent this year and has jumped 51 percent since falling to a lifetime low in early March.
Banks were among top gainers, with Standard Chartered, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, BNP Paribas and Commerzbank gaining from 0.9 to 8.2 percent.
"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.
"The positive sentiment is mainly explained by flows, but also thanks to improved earnings momentum," he said, adding recent positive economic data also helped the market.
Britain's economy shrank by a smaller than expected 0.7 percent in the second quarter, after statisticians revised up their estimates for the manufacturing, energy, wholesale and motor vehicles sectors.
Investors awaited more macroeconomic figures, including Euro zone business climate data at 0900 GMT, U.S. personal income and consumption data at 1230 GMT, Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers at 1355 GMT and Economic Cycle Research Institute's weekly index of economic activity at 1430 GMT.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 rose 1-1.4 percent.
COMMODS UP, L'OREAL JUMPS
Energy shares tracked crude oil prices, which rose towards $73 a barrel after snapping a two-day fall a day ago from 10-month highs, boosted by better-than-expected U.S. GDP and jobs data.
BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow Oil, Repsol, Total and StatoilHydro added 0.4-1.9 percent.
Miners got strength from higher metals prices. Copper rose 2 percent as economic and demand expectations improved, although analysts warned that weak fundamentals and rising inventories could lead to base metal price corrections.
BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Eurasian Natural Resources rose 2.4-5 percent.
L'Oreal jumped 6.6 percent after the French beauty products giant posted a smaller-than-expected drop in first-half profit, as consumers tightened their belts and became more reluctant to spend money on high-end lipsticks and creams.
French supermarket group Carrefour confirmed that full-year operating profit would fall up to 18 percent this year after the world's second-biggest retailer saw no change in the trend in its main domestic market during the summer. But its shares were up 4.6 percent, in line with a broader market trend.
Alcatel-Lucent also rose on positive momentum and gained 3.3 percent. A Huawei source said on Friday that China's Huawei has no plans to take a stake in the company, two days after the French-American telecoms equipment maker's stock jumped on market chatter a Chinese rival could acquire it.
But French luxury group Hermes fell 3.5 percent after it posted first-half profits below market expectations, hit in part by lower revenues from its financial investments and slower growth in certain markets. (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)