* FTSEurofirst 300 up 1 percent; gains for 2nd session
* Hopes of Irish debt crisis solution support shares
* Automakers top gainers on General Motors IPO
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - European equities climbed for a second straight day on Thursday on optimism that Ireland's move to work with a EU-IMF mission on urgent steps to help its banking sector could lead to a solution to its debt crisis.
Automakers surged as sentiment improved after General Motors pulled off the biggest initial public offering in U.S. history on Wednesday, raising $20.1 billion.
The STOXX Europe 600 Automobiles & Parts index surged 2.4 percent, while BMW and Fiat gained 2.6 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.
At 0933 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1 percent at 1,103.23 points after rising to a high of 1,103.63 earlier in the session. The index, which closed 0.5 percent higher on Wednesday, is up 5.5 percent so far this year, against a 26 percent jump in 2009.
A team from the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank will travel to Ireland on Thursday to examine what measures may be needed if Dublin decides to seek aid, euro zone finance ministers said.
"It's absolutely vital for the authorities to take proactive steps in order to try to resolve this crisis as soon as possible. The market should see some relief in relation to that," said Henk Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Wealth.
"Hopefully resolving this issue should be good news in terms of helping to increase investors' risk appetite."
Irish Central Bank Governor Patrick Honohan said on Thursday that the country was likely to end up taking a loan from the European Union and International Monetary Fund that will run into tens of billions of euros.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 were up 1.1 to 1.5 percent. The Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Countries Index was up 2 percent.
MINERS ADVANCE
Miners got strength from higher metals prices. The STOXX Europe 600 basic resources index rose 1.7 percent, while Anglo American and Antofagasta rose 1.9 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.
Financial shares were broadly higher, with the European banking index gaining 1.4 percent, and Societe Generale climbing 2.8 percent. But Irish banks remained under pressure. Allied Irish Banks was down 3 percent, and Bank of Ireland fell 1.3 percent.
The technical picture improved after the Euro STOXX 50 rose 1.4 percent to 2,843.36 points to hover above its 50-day moving average and a 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement of a fall from an April high to a May low.
Among individual movers, Ahold fell 3.4 percent after posting a smaller-than-expected 7.5 percent rise in third-quarter profit as tough trading in its main U.S. market offset a strong performance in the Netherlands.
"Modestly disappointing," said Bernstein analyst Chris Hogbin. "With food inflation returning and the macro environment stabilising, the window of opportunity may be closing."
Brewer SABMiller rose 5 percent after beating first-half earnings forecasts and saying it expected trading in most of its key emerging markets to steadily improve. (Additional reporting by Mark Potter; Graphics by Scott Barber and Vincent Flasseur; Editing by Will Waterman)