* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.5 percent; shakes off earlier losses
* Banks among the biggest gainers
* BoE keeps rates on hold; ECB upbeat on recovery
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By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday, with a key index holding above a resistance level, as banks gained after positive comments on the economy by a European Central Bank policymaker helped bolster investors' confidence.
By 1101 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up 0.5 percent at 1,076.90 points, after rising 1 percent in the previous session.
The Euro STOXX 50, the euro zone's blue chip index, rose 0.5 percent to 2,766.77 points, climbing above its 50 percent Fibonacci retracement of a fall from an April high to a May low at 2,737.62 points.
Banks were among the biggest gainers, with Barclays, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole adding 1.5 to 2.2 percent, shaking off losses from the previous session.
ECB Governing Council member Yves Mersch said the euro zone is on the brink of a sustainable recovery and the central bank is likely to discuss removing some support measures at its December meeting.
By contrast, the OECD said global recovery looks to be slowing more than expected as growth weakens in rich economies, and stimulus should be extended or stepped up if the slowdown endures.
Analysts said investors were likely to focus on the pace of economic recovery in Europe and the United States in the near term for direction for equities.
"The ECB and the Fed could start their stimulus exit programme by mid next year and until then we will be in a wait-and-see mode", said Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein, equity strategist at Deutsche Postbank in Bonn, Germany.
"There is no clear direction at the moment. While companies are reporting good numbers, there are still concerns over the economic situation in southern Europe and in the U.S., and I expect that the market will move sideways in the near term."
Bucking a stronger banking sector, French insurer Axa fell 1.5 percent after Australia's competition regulator blocked National Australia Bank's $12 billion bid for AXA Asia Pacific for a second time, dashing NAB's efforts to cement its dominance in the world's fourth-largest wealth management market.
BOE DECISION
In a widely expected move, the Bank of England kept interest rates at 0.5 percent for the 18th month in a row on Thursday and announced no new quantitative easing purchases.
Across the Atlantic, data likely to generate interest include U.S. weekly jobless claims at 1230 GMT, with economists in a Reuters survey forecast a total of 470,000 new filings compared with 472,000 in the prior week.
On the downside, utilities E.ON and RWE dropped around 1 percent after German newspapers, citing an agreement between the government and energy firms, reported that a nuclear compromise reached on Sunday could entail higher costs for utilities than previously known.
British retailers Home Retail fell 4.5 percent after it forecast a 20 to 25 percent fall in first-half profit and a full-year outcome in the bottom half of the current analyst range.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC rose 0.5 to 0.9 percent. (Editing by Hans Peters)