* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.4 percent; hits 26-month high
* Miners gain as metals prices rally
* Strong macroeconomic data improves market sentiment
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By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - European shares rose by midday on Monday, on track to post their sixth straight session of gains, with mining shares boosted by a rally in metals prices as confidence in the economic recovery gathered pace.
Trading volumes, however, were thin as the year-end holiday period draws closer.
By 1202 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up 0.4 percent at 1,130.93 points, having earlier hit its highest intraday level since late September 2008.
"We have two major economies spearheading growth in 2011, the United States and China, and that is pushing markets ahead and leaving the difficulties with the euro zone to one side for now," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
Mining shares were among the heaviest gainers, with Eurasian Natural Resources, Kazakhmyz and Vedanta Resources up 1.7 to 2.8 percent, as copper prices hit record highs on encouraging economic data from top consumer China.
China released a flurry of economic figures over the weekend, which showed industrial output in November topped forecasts while inflation climbed to a 28-month high in the same month.
Analysts said the data points to possible monetary tightening measures to mop up liquidity, but the markets were so far relieved by Beijing's move to hold back from lifting interest rates when it announced a rise in the minimum reserve requirement for banks last week.
"China's authorities are very determined that the economy should not lose momentum so they're spacing out their tightening of monetary policy. Sooner or later interest rates will have to rise ... but maybe they don't want to load too much tightening on the economy all at once," said Lenhoff.
Confidence over the pace of economic recovery in the United States also helped bolster positive sentiment following upbeat economic data last week, including strong U.S. consumer confidence and an improving jobs outlook.
U.S. Treasuries tumbled on Monday, with yields hitting fresh six-month highs, on signs of global economic recovery and deeper U.S. deficits.
"... I don't think there are too many investors willing to take big risks in the remaining days of the year. It could mean that people are going to secure their profits. The market could become pretty volatile in the coming days due to lower volumes," said Koen De Leus, strategist at KBC Securities.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 rose 0.4 to 0.9 percent.
RENAULT GAINS
Among individual movers, French carmaker Renault rose 2.4 percent after Le Figaro said the firm would post record 2010 vehicle sales and profits, and would unveil a fresh target for an operating margin of 4 to 5 percent in 2013.
Within the sector, Peugeot, Volkswagen and Porsche gained 1.7 to 2.4 percent.
Other movers included British oilfield services company Wellstream Holdings, which rose 5.1 percent after General Electric said it would buy the company for about 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion).
French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis shed 0.7 percent after it extended its snubbed $18.5 billion cash bid for U.S. biotech group Genzyme by six weeks, buying time to persuade its reluctant target to talk. (Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Hans Peters)