* FTSEurofirst 300 index gains 1.2 percent
* Banks' shares rise as Goldman results beat forecasts
* Miners up on higher metals prices
By Brian Gorman
LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - European shares rose for a second day on Tuesday, with banks boosted by hopes that better-than-expected results at Goldman Sachs are heralding a strong reporting season for the sector.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares rose 1.2 percent to 840.15 points, the highest close since July 3, and following a 2 percent surge in the previous session.
Banks added most to the index. BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Societe Generale, UBS and UniCredit rose between 2.1 and 3.6 percent.
"The economy is getting close to a turning point," said Darren Winder, head of macro and strategy research at Cazenove, in London. "Profits are starting to form a bottom, and they should grow in the second half of the year, and further into 2010."
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.
The European benchmark index is up 30.2 percent from the lifetime low it hit on March 9, but some analysts say the rally has gone too far, relative to any real signs of recovery.
Economic data from the United States was open to different interpretations.
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. Commerce Department data showed sales at U.S. retailers rose 0.6 percent from a month earlier, ahead of economists' expectations for a 0.4 percent advance.
But some analysts said the data was weak, once autos and gasoline are excluded.
A separate report from the Labor Department showed producer prices jumped 1.8 percent last month, far outstripping forecasts for a 0.9 percent gain.
MINERS GAIN
Miners were bolstered by higher metals prices. Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys , Lonmin and Xstrata rose between 2.9 and 9.3 percent.
Rio Tinto rose 5.1 percent, ahead of a statement on output on Wednesday.
Fresnillo, which reports second-quarter production figures on Thursday, closed 13.3 percent higher with some investors believing the silver price is ready to rebound.
Autos stocks were also buoyed by the slightly more optimistic stance investors were taking on the economic outlook. Renault, Peugeot, and BMW added between 2.7 and 5.3 percent.
Shares in Fiat rose 2.8 percent after a double upgrade from ICAP, raising its recommendation to "buy" from "sell", ahead of the company's second-quarter results on July 22.
Energy stocks rose, though crude prices struggled to stay above $60 a barrel.
Total, Royal Dutch Shell and StatoilHydro rose between 0.9 and 2.8 percent.
On the downside, Q-Cells, the world's biggest maker of solar cells, fell 14.4 percent after it withdrew its full-year sales outlook, expecting a substantial operating loss in the second quarter as the market environment remained dire.
Mobile phone operator Vodafone fell 1.9 percent after UBS downgraded it to "neutral" from "buy".
ZEW data showed German analyst and investor sentiment fell in July for the first time since October 2008, but investors soon shrugged off the weaker-than-expected data.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC-40 rose between 0.9 and 1.3 percent.
Wall Street was slightly higher as European bourses were closing. The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up between 0.1 and 0.3 percent. (Additional reporting by Simon Falush; editing by Rupert Winchester)