STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Shares stay higher as U.S. rises

European shares remain positive after Wall Street opens slightly higher, as retail sales and results at Goldman Sachs (GS.N) were better than forecast. The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares is up 1.4 percent at 841.52 points, compared with a high for the day of 843.15.

Banks are adding most to the index. BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), HSBC (HSBA.L), Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), UBS (UBSN.VX) and UniCredit (CRDI.MI) are up between 2.3 and 3.2 percent.

A jump in auto and gasoline sales boosted U.S. retailers in June, while a measure of inflation soared by twice as much as expected, bolstering hopes the economy was finally beginning a modest recovery. [ID:nN14252432]

Goldman Sachs, Wall Street's largest surviving investment bank, reported a 33 percent rise in quarterly earnings as a strong gain in trading was offset by a one-time charge to repay government loans. [ID:nN14175292]

The Dow Jones .DJI, S&P 500 .SPX and Nasdaq Composite .IXIC are up between 0.2 and 0.3 percent in early trade.

Reuters Messaging: rm://brian.gorman.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net