* FTSEurofirst 300 index up 0.4 percent
* Oils, banks rebound
* Miners fall
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - European shares hit their highest close since October on Tuesday after better-than-expected U.S. house prices and consumer confidence data lifted investor spirits, with oils and banks rebounding from earlier losses.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 0.4 percent at 978.76 points, rising for the fourth consecutive day, after falling to a low of 967.98 points earlier in the session.
The index, which plunged 45 percent in 2008, is still up 17 percent this year and has surged 51 percent from a record low in March.
"The market is on the upside. The top down data was pretty good today. Consumer confidence figures by the Conference Board were extremely good," said Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland Research.
"But I think the market has gone too far too fast and consolidation is a must."
U.S. consumer confidence figures climbed more than expected in August on an improved outlook on the job market and the overall economy, according to a private report released.
The market was also buoyed after prices of U.S. single-family homes rose for the second consecutive month in June, adding to evidence that the three-year housing slump is easing, Standard & Poor's reported. Energy shares were among top gainers, rebounding from earlier losses as crude traded near $74 a barrel. BG Group, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total were up 0.8 to 1.6 percent.
However, Cairn Energy fell 1.4 percent after it said its large Indian oilfields would begin producing oil this week, but warned that meeting targets for the next stages of the development was becoming "increasingly challenging".
RBS GAINS
The banking sector also recovered. Shares in part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) gained 3.9 percent, with traders citing talk that the lender was looking to buy back shares from the UK government. RBS was not immediately available for comment. Banco Santander and HSBC were up 1.4 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
Telecom stocks featured among top gainers. Vodafone, France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom were up 2.3 to 3.7 percent.
Miners were the biggest fallers on the index as copper fell 0.9 percent.
Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, Rio Tinto and Xstrata were 1.1 to 3 percent lower.
"The results season has been dominated by BHP and Rio Tinto and their cautious outlooks," UBS said in a note.
"But we look for a more positive September; Antofagasta and Kazakhmys will report this week and should specifically highlight the copper story that surprises both in supply tightness and in western world restocking."
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.4 percent, Germany's DAX was 0.7 percent higher and France's CAC 40 was up 0.8 percent. (Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; editing by Karen Foster)