LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Monday, with banks boosted by upbeat results from U.S. lender Citigroup , while oil majors drew support from a rally in crude prices to above $82 as the dollar pared earlier gains.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares provisionally closed 0.3 percent higher at 1,088.68 points.
"The (Citi) results have been a cause for cementing gains as opposed to convincing people to take money off the table. Indices are still firmly dictated by QE 2, the strength of the dollar and strength of commodity prices," said Joshua Raymond, market strategist at City Index.
Banks were among the biggest gainers, buoyed by better-than-forecast quarterly profit at Citigroup. European banks Barclays, HSBC and Societe Generale were up 1.2 to 2.5 percent.
Insulin producer Novo Nordisk, however, fell 5.1 percent after U.S. peer Pfizer agreed a deal to sell Indian group Biocon's biosimilar versions of diabetes treatment insulin. (Reporting by Harpreet Bhal)