* FTSEurofirst 300 up 1 percent
* Carrefour surges on hypermarket strategy
* Crucell soars on takeover approach
* Miners gain as gold, copper prices rise
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - European shares rose in early
trade on Friday, with Carrefour
Acquisitions news also boosted sentiment. At 0822 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares was 1 percent higher at 1,086.96 points, after falling 0.8 percent in the previous session.
The European benchmark soared 62 percent between hitting a lifetime low in March, 2009, and the end of the year. It has risen 5.9 percent in September, but it is up only 4 percent in 2010, on worries about European debt levels and the strength of the economic recovery.
"The bias of the market is to go up. That's not because it's getting good data, but it's inclined to wait for better data. It believes there won't be a double dip," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin.
Carrefour
UK supermarket groups Tesco
Dutch biotech company Crucell
OPPORTUNITY COST
Copper rose after reassuring comments from China's central
bank about its plans to keep monetary policy loose. Spot gold
"Gold is in the ascendancy because investors believe
interest rates will stay close to zero for quite some time to
come. The opportunity cost of being in gold is very low,"
McAlinden said.
Miners to gain included Kazakhmys
BHP Billiton
"The merit of the bid for Potash Corp
The Euro STOXX 50 <.STOXX50E>, the euro zone's blue-chip index, rose 1 percent to 2,811.44 points -- rising above 2,805.95, the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement of the index's fall from an April high to a May low.
Some traders were cautious ahead of triple witching, when contracts for stock index futures, stock index options and stock options all expire at the same time.
European technology companies gained after U.S. group Oracle
SAP
Denmark's TDC
Later in the session, investors' attention will turn to U.S. data, including inflation and the latest readings on the economy from the University of Michigan. (Editing by David Holmes)