European shares gained 1 percent on Monday after three weeks of falls as relief that Hurricane Wilma had missed already storm-battered U.S. energy facilities boosted oil stocks but dragged the crude price lower, Reuters reported. Mining stocks were strong on hopes of bullish earnings while takeover rumours offered support with UK caterer Compass and Danish telecoms firm TDC jumping after being linked to private equity houses. A report that President Bush would announce top economic adviser Ben Bernanke as successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan also helped global stocks as traders said it removed the uncertainty dogging markets. Europe's benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 index closed 1.1 percent firmer at 1,185.17, extending gains late in the session as the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC closed around 1.3 percent higher. The FTSEurofirst had fallen 5 percent from a 41-month high of 1,242.2 in the previous three weeks as some quarterly results failed to beat expectations and investors fretted over rising U.S. interest rates with high oil seen stoking inflation. --More 0042 Local Time 2142 GMT
