* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.4 percent
* Miners gain on firmer metal prices; oils up
* Danske Bank, Adecco, Natixis drop
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on
By Christoph Steitz
FRANKFURT, Aug 11 (Reuters) - European shares were higher on Tuesday as mining stocks gained on firmer metal prices, while investors took positions ahead of a new flurry of blue-chip earnings later this week.
By 0814 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was 0.4 percent higher at 948.14 points. Europe's benchmark index has gained 14 percent in 2009, and is up 47 percent since reaching a record low in early March.
"The market is in keeping a low profile at the moment," said Postbank equity strategist Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein.
"Trading today should be rather quiet as smaller companies are reporting while tomorrow and the day after will see a slew of earnings of European heavyweights. Later in the day U.S. data will come in, which should not be too bad -- but it is not that sort of number that makes the market move in a big way," he said.
Miners gained on firmer metal prices, with Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Anglo American up 1.3 to 1.5 percent.
Rio Tinto said it had yet to be presented with any evidence to support the detention of four of its China-based staff on suspicions of stealing state secrets.
Oil and gas stocks gained after oil rose, temporarily breaking through the $71 mark, as record Chinese oil imports and refinery production helped offset mixed economic data.
The DJ STOXX European Oil & Gas Index was 0.6 percent higher, with BP, Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group up 0.5 to 1.0 percent.
DANSKE, NATIXIS DROP
On the downside, shares in Denmark's biggest financial group Danske Bank dropped 1.9 percent after it reported a bigger-than-forecast drop in second-quarter pretax profits.
France's Natixis plunged 8.7 percent after the firm's parent BCPE bank told French market regulator AMF it does not plan to delist Natixis as part of a strategic review.
"We never believed in a squeeze-out ... but look for some profit taking today though as delisting was a scenario mentioned by many," a Paris-based trader says.
Shares in Adecco, the world's largest staffing company, fell 1.7 percent after it missed forecasts with a second-quarter loss and said it was buying the UK's Spring Group to boost its professional staffing business.
German real estate company GAGFAH fell 8.7 percent, after a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Goldman Sachs has placed 10 million shares on behalf of an unidentified investor. Goldman declined to comment.
Later in the day, investors will focus on U.S. economic data, with Redbook chain store sales due 1255 GMT.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.4 percent, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 were both up 0.6 percent.
(Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson in Paris; editing by John Stonestreet)