* FTSEurofirst 300 index gains 1 percent
* Commodity stocks rally
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) - European shares gained on Friday on global recovery hopes after U.S. nonfarm payroll data rose more than expected and commodity stocks featured among the top performers.
By 1311 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up 1 percent at 1,143.04 points after being as low as 1,125.21 and following sharp falls in the previous sessions on growth concerns.
Volume was 69.7 percent of its 90-day average.
Investor confidence improved after nonfarm payrolls rose 244,000, which was above economist expectations and supported the view economic recovery would regain momentum this quarter.
"The market had anticipated a weak number and it has come back obviously stronger than expected," said Matt Brown, trader at Catalyst Markets.
"A lot of people had priced in a bad number and as we go into the weekend expect equity markets to rally as investors unwind short positions."
Commodity stocks were among the top performers, with copper prices turning positive and Brent crude paring losses after earlier tumbling as much as 5.1 percent on growth worries.
The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index gained 2.3 percent, with Anglo American, Vedanta Resources and Xstrata rising 1.9 to 2.7 percent, while the STOXX Europe 600 Oil & Gas index rose 0.8 percent. Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.5 percent while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 both gained 1.3 percent. (Editing by David Cowell)