LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - European shares were expected to open higher on Tuesday, recovering a little of the ground lost in the previous session, when they suffered their biggest drop in six weeks. Financial spreadbetters expected Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE to open up to 19 points higher, or as much as 0.4 percent, Germany's DAX .GDAXI to open up to 17 points higher, or as much as 0.3 percent and France's CAC .FCHI to open up to 4 points higher, or as much as 0.1 percent. On Monday, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of leading European shares fell 2 percent to 921.96 points, its lowest close since July 29, and its biggest one-day percentage drop since July 2. The European benchmark index is still up 42.8 percent from its lifetime low hit on March 9, as investors have become more confident on the prospects for recovery. Some analysts say there is not sufficient evidence of economic recovery to justify the surge. However, German analyst and investor sentiment is expected to have risen in August on optimism over improvements in the global economy and the country's key export sector, a poll showed on Friday. The ZEW think tank's monthly survey of German economic sentiment, to be released at 0900 GMT, will rise to 45.0 from 39.5 in July, according to the mid-range forecast in a Reuters poll of 40 analysts. The German economy pulled out of its deepest recession since World War Two in the second quarter, expanding unexpectedly by 0.3 percent and boosting hopes of recovery in the broader euro zone. Later, investors' attention will switch to data on housing starts in the United States, due at 1230 GMT.

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