European shares up 1 percent after U.S. jobs data

* FTSEurofirst 300 up 1 pct, hits 6-week high

* Shares extend gains after U.S. jobs data

* Financials, miners among top gainers

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

By Atul Prakash

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - European shares advanced for a sixth straight session to a six-week high on Friday after data showed U.S. employers cut a smaller than expected 36,000 jobs in February, with unemployment steady at 9.7 percent.

The figures strengthened views that the U.S. labour market was on the brink of creating jobs. The Labor Department said job losses for December and January were revised to show 35,000 fewer jobs lost than previously reported.

At 1422 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares was up 1 percent at 1,046.31 points after touching 1,047.42 -- the highest since Jan. 21. The index, which gained 26 percent last year, is up 62 percent since hitting a record low in March 2009.

Banks were among the top gainers, with Standard Chartered <STAN.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, Barclays <BARC.L>, Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Allied Irish Banks <ALBK.I> and Bank of Ireland <BKIR.I> rising between 2.2 and 14.7 percent.

"Every (item of) positive news is welcome, and the non-farm payrolls figures are certainly quite helpful," said Gerhard Schwarz, head of global equity strategy at UniCredit in Munich.

"As long as we don't have to really question the earnings outlook, the valuation side will still lend us some support here," he said.

Miners were also in demand, partly supported by a jump in metals prices on improving growth outlook.

STOXX Europe 600 basic resources index <.SXPP> rose 2.6 percent after dropping 0.5 percent in the previous session. BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and Eurasian Natural Resources <ENRC.L> rose 1.8 to 4.7 percent.

WPP <WPP.L>, the largest advertising group in the world, rose 1.9 percent after it said it believed the worst of the advertising recession was over and expected emerging markets and digital sales to help it record flat revenues in 2010. [ID:nLDE6230U5] (Editing by Will Waterman)