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By Brian Gorman
LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - European shares were higher at midday on Friday, with energy companies gaining as cold weather boosted oil prices, and defensives gaining.
At 1148 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent at 1,021.97, having been as high as 1,028.34. It slipped 1.3 percent in the previous session after five straight sessions of gains.
The index, on course to finish the week more than 1 percent higher, is up more than 58 percent from a record low in early March, as several economies have come out of recession.
Energy shares gained ground after crude oil CLc1 rose more than 1 percent to $73.41 a barrel, as cold weather boosted demand. A slightly weaker dollar, giving up a little of its recent gains, also helped boost prices.
Total (TOTF.PA), BP (BP.L), BG (BG.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.AS) and StatoilHydro (STL.OL) rose between 0.7 and 2 percent.
Index heavyweight BP also benefitted from Goldman Sachs raising its rating to "buy" from "neutral, but the broker downgraded several others, including Statoil and Total.
Antofagasta (ANTO.L), BHP Billiton (BLT.L), Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L), Vedanta (VED.L) and Xstrata (XTA.L) rose between 1.5 and 2.6 percent. "Investors have been reluctant to allow the market to trade down very far," said Mike Lenhoff, strategist at Brewin Dolphin, in London.
"When there's a sell-off, it seems there are investors coming back in there, though volumes are lower. Fourth-quarter earnings should be good, and show top-line growth, and that could be what's helping to keep the market up."
Drugmakers were also in demand. AstraZeneca (AZN.L), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), Novartis (NOVN.VX), Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), Roche Holding (ROG.VX) and Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA) rose 0.7 to 3.1 percent.
Utilities were another defensive sector to gain, with E.ON (EONGn.DE) and GDF Suez (GSZ.PA), up 1.6 and 1.7 percent respectively.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index .FTSE was up 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX .GDAXI and France's CAC 40 .FCHI were up 0.6 and 0.3 percent respectively.
AGGREKO POWERS HIGHER
Aggreko (AGGK.L) rose 4.9 percent, hitting an all-time high after the power provider issued a trading update which prompted Citi and Altium Securities to hike their target prices.
The company, which will be promoted to the FTSE 100 .FTSE on Monday in the quarterly reshuffle, said trading in the fourth quarter was better than it anticipated.
Among other individual movers, Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair (RYA.I) was up 6.4 percent. It said it had ended talks with Boeing (BA.N) on an order for 200 aircraft order after a disagreement on contractual terms, and it was to slow investment in 2011 and 2012.
French communications company Iliad (ILD.PA) rose 4.5 percent after winning France's fourth mobile phone licence, paving the way for more competition and lower prices for consumers in Europe's third-largest telecom market. [ID:nLDE5BH0A1]
Macro-economic indicators were mixed, with German business sentiment rising in December, hitting its highest level since July 2008. The Munich-based Ifo thinktank said its business climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms, rose to 94.7 from 93.9 in November. [ID:nBEB004418]
But a survey showed that French company bosses were less confident about their prospects in December, adding to signs that the economic recovery is fragile. [ID:nLDE5BG2BD] (Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Mike Nesbit)
