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European shares rebound ahead of U.S. jobs data

* FTSEurofirst 300 up 1 pct

* Investors position for acceleration in U.S. jobs growth

* German industry orders lift sentiment

By Francesco Canepa

LONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - European shares rallied on Friday, recouping most of their previous day's losses, as strong German factory orders and expectations for upbeat U.S. jobs data later in the day revived investor appetite.

At 0855 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was up 1 percent at 1,394.65 points after falling 1.4 percent in the previous session, when the European Central Bank said any decision on further stimulus would be made next year.

German industry orders rose far more than forecast in October and though the country's central bank dampened the mood by slashing its growth forecasts for Europe's largest economy, its president said there were signs current weakness would soon be overcome.

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U.S. jobs data due at 1330 GMT was expected to show employment growth likely accelerated a bit in November. Non-farm payrolls were forecast to have increased by 230,000 jobs last month after rising by 214,000 in October, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

Traders said a number in line with consensus would keep market expectations for continued U.S. growth on track while not fuelling concerns about an early hike in Federal Reserve interest rates.

"A number in line with expectations would make people think there's no need to bank any profit at the moment," Paul Chesterton, a trader at Peregrine & Black, said.

Even after Thursday's fall, the FTSEurofirst is up nearly 15 percent since mid-October, boosted by speculation about ECB stimulus.

Spain's Bankia fell 1.7 percent in brisk volume after a report released as part of a court investigation said the bank presented a series of error-strewn accounts for 2011, the year it listed shares.

Saipem (Other OTC: SAPMY - news) fell 3.6 percent after the Italian oil services group said it had been notified of the suspension of "marine spread activities", which include pipe-laying operations, as part of the South Stream project.

Russia on Monday scrapped the pipeline project to supply gas to southern Europe without crossing Ukraine, but Saipem had previously said that it had not received formal notice of the termination of any South Stream contracts.

Morgan Stanley (Xetra: 885836 - news) cut its target price on the stock to 12 euros from 16.50 euros.

Europe bourses in 2014: http://link.reuters.com/pap87v

Asset performance in 2014: http://link.reuters.com/gap87v

Today's European research round-up (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Toby Chopra)