* FTSEurofirst 300 index rises 0.3 percent in subdued trade
* Speculation rife of more quantitative easing by Fed
* Dexia rises ahead of an investor day on Tuesday
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - European shares set a two-week closing high on Monday on persistent talk the U.S. Federal Reserve will step up efforts to support the economy, while investors awaited U.S. corporate earnings for further direction.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed 0.3 percent higher at 1,074.33 points, but trading was subdued due to the Columbus Day holiday in the United States, where the stock market was trading but the bond market was closed.
"Markets are in a good mood but volumes are low because of Columbus Day. Apart from that we're waiting for corporate results this week for the next move," said Simon Clark, senior trader at ETX Capital.
Weak economic data from across the Atlantic in recent weeks, including lower-than-expected U.S. payrolls numbers on Friday, underscored expectations that the Fed will embark on further quantitative easing measures to bolster the economic recovery.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 rose 0.1 to 0.3 percent.
U.S. EARNINGS EYED
Individual gainers in Europe included Franco-Belgian financial group Dexia, which added 6.2 percent ahead of an investor day on Tuesday which could shed light on a possible tie up.
Swedish firm Electrolux rose 4.2 percent after the company agreed in principle to buy Egypt's Olympic Group, the biggest appliance maker in the Middle East and North Africa.
Investors are likely to focus on major U.S. corporate results due later this week, including quarterly earnings from Intel and JP Morgan.
Analysts said the outlook for companies looked relatively bright, while not holding the promise of the strong gains in profitability seen earlier this year.
"The winter worries will create a difficult backdrop for developed market equities to push ahead further from the very strong (share price) gains that we saw in the third quarter and investors need to increasingly think about switching exposure to faster-growing emerging markets equities," said Henk Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Wealth.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index ended last week in positive territory for a second straight week. The index has surged 66 percent since a low in March last year, but is up just 2.7 percent this year.
"(Last week's) price action makes it clear the Eurofirst is holding firm above the uptrend that began after the lows in March 2009 and, while this remains the case, a further test of the highs, at 1,112, remains possible," Bill McNamara, technical analyst at Charles Stanley, said.
"The recent low, at 1,051, is another level that we might have to keep an eye on in the near term."
The STOXX Europe 50, the euro zone's blue chip index, closed 0.2 percent higher at 2,789.72 points -- holding above its 50 percent Fibonacci retracement from a high in April to a low in May at 2,737.62 points. (Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by David Holmes)