European Stocks Turn Positive; ING, Barclays Jump

At 0837 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.2 percent at 762.07 points.

European shares gave up early losses to turn higher early on Monday, led by a surge in ING, which said it would tap into government guarantees, and Barclays, which flagged a strong start to the year.

At 0837 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.2 percent at 762.07 points.

ING jumped 9.9 percent after saying it would tap into 22 billion euros of Dutch state loan guarantees for its troubled loan portfolio, and that its chief executive was stepping down.

Barclays leapt 27 percent after it said 2008 profit had been struck after all costs, impairment and market valuations. It said it had seen a good start to 2009 and that customer activity levels had been high.

HSBC added most points to the pan-European index, trading 2.4 percent higher, while Total lifted oil stocks, rising 2.2 percent.