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* STOXX Europe 600 index up 0.2 pct
* SocGen and Eutelsat among top gainers
* Yara International worst performer
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - European shares climbed for athird consecutive session on Thursday, with some major companiessuch as France's second-biggest listed bank Societe Generale and oil major Total advancing after theirresults.
Eutelsat also surged, up 6 percent and the topgainer in the STOXX 600 index, after thetelecommunication services firm's first half revenue fell lessthan expected. It also predicted higher Internet and mobilesatellite sales and planned to buy a Viasat satellite.
Shares in Societe Generale rose 2 percent after the bankreported better than expected net income in the final threemonths of last year and said it would float a stake in itsbooming vehicle leasing unit ALD.
France's Total gained 0.8 percent after the company alsoreported better than expected fourth quarter net profits, thanksto cost savings that enabled it to raise its dividend, and saidit was hunting opportunities to buy assets from strugglingrivals.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that there was a strongvalue case for European equities relative to the United States.However, the value case was conditional on the earnings cycle inEurope turning to relative profit growth and the impact ofpolitical and sovereign risks.
"So far the signs are positive. Earnings (in Europe) are nowrising relative to the U.S. and we expect double digit EPSgrowth in 2017," Bank of America ML analysts said in a note.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.2 percent by 0959GMT after rising in the past two straight days. Across Europe,the DAX, up 0.1 percent, was little changed after datashowed Germany's trade surplus hit a new record in 2016.
However, gains were limited by some weaker sectors and poorcompany updates.
The European mining index fell 1.3 percent, thebiggest sectoral decliner, after copper and nickel dropped.Shares in Anglo American, Antofagasta andGlencore were down 2.6 to 3.5 percent.
Commerzbank fell 3 percent after the German lendersaid it needed to do more to get back to sustainable growth.Germany's second-largest lender behind Deutsche Bank,however, beat quarterly profit forecasts.
Thomas Cook fell 7 percent on its cautious outlook.It said summer bookings were ahead of last year, but it wascautious for the rest of the year due to uncertain political andeconomic outlook.
However, some analysts were mildly positive.
"Times are tough in the European travel industry and ThomasCook isn't having the best of it, though the good news is thingsdon't seem to be getting any worse," Laith Khalaf, senioranalyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said.
Yara International and Gjensidige bothfell 6 percent after their results.
Smith & Nephew dropped 3.3 percent after Europe'sbiggest artificial hip and knee maker reported a 7 percent dropin full-year trading profit, missing average forecasts, on toughmarket conditions in China and the Gulf.
Yara International and Gjensidige bothfell 6 percent after their results. (Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Keith Weir)
