Glencore IPO demand boosts European shares

* FTSEurofirst 300 index rises 0.4 percent

* Glencore IPO shows support for commodity stocks

* Euro zone peripheral debt issues in background

* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on [STXNEWS/EU]

By Joanne Frearson

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday, led by commodity stocks after the initial public offering of Glencore helped sentiment in the sector, but ongoing worries about Greek debt could make trading volatile.

By 0857 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares was up 0.4 percent at 1,134.90 points after gaining 0.4 percent in the previous session as investors bought into commodity and technology stocks.

Commodity trader Glencore opened at 548 pence, more than 3 percent above the debut price of 530 pence in grey market trading, helping to boost commodities. [ID:nLDE74I062]

Traders said the Glencore IPO was a success because the backdrop for commodities was still positive, despite the recent sell-off, and long-term demand remained for China.

Also improving investor sentiment was news that the Federal Open Monetary Committee minutes did not indicate the Fed was ready to start policy tightening any time soon, a move which could boost appetite for risky stocks.

"Long-term demand from China is really driving up commodity stocks and ultimately that is the reason why investors put money into the Glencore IPO," said Yusuf Heusen, senior sales trader at IG Index.

"Most traders putting their money in Glencore are in it for the long term and expect demand for commodities to remain."

Liberum Capital said the IPO could mark the "end of this mini-sell off in both the sector and broader commodities," and it had refreshed valuations in the sectors.

Mining stocks featured among the top performers, with the STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index <.SXPP> rising 0.7 percent. Lonmin , Rio Tinto and Fresnillo rose 0.5 to 1.3 percent.

Oil stocks were also higher, with the STOXX Europe 600 Oil & Gas index <.SXEP> rising 1 percent.

Also on the upside, ITV gained 4.1 percent after Bernstein Research upgraded the free-to-air broadcaster to "outperform" from "marketperform" on valuation grounds.

Across Europe, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index was up 0.5 percent, Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> rose 0.6 percent and France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> was 0.4 percent higher.

TECHNICIALS POSITIVE

Technicals looked positive, with the euro zone's blue chip Euro STOXX 50 <.STOXX50E> up 0.3 percent at 2,877.14, rising above 2,873, its 50 percent retracement of the index's rise from a low point in mid-March to a peak in early May.

The index's next resistance level is 2,910.52, representing it's 38.2 percent retracement level.

However, fund managers said the euro zone peripheral debt issues remained in the background and the market could experience volatility until the issue was resolved.

The Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Countries Index <.TRXFLDPIPU> slipped 0.5 percent following comments from ECB Executive Board member Juergen Stark that a restructuring of Greek sovereign debt would make it impossible for the ECB to continue using them as collateral.

"The market will remain schizophrenic, the euro zone peripheral debt issues are still in the background and until the problems are solved there are still concerns," said Andrea Williams, who manages 1.3 billion pounds assets for Royal London Asset Management.

Elsewhere on the downside, Swiss group Richemont fell 4.7 percent after net profit came in just below a Reuters poll forecasts.[ID:nLDE74G29O] (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Hans Peters)