European shares rebound ahead of U.S. jobs data

* FTSEurofirst 300 up 1.1 pct, bounces from previous day's drop

* Energy shares tumble again as Brent falls to $69 a barrel

* German industry orders lift sentiment

By Blaise Robinson and Francesco Canepa

PARIS/LONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - European shares rallied on Friday, recouping most of the previous session's losses, helped by strong German factory orders and expectations for upbeat U.S. jobs data due later in the day.

Shares (Frankfurt: DI6.F - news) in oil and gas firms bucked the trend, losing ground again as Brent crude fell close to $69 a barrel. Seadrill was down 4.6 percent, Saipem (Other OTC: SAPMY - news) down 2.9 percent and Statoil (Xetra: 675213 - news) down 0.9 percent.

This year's sharp drop in crude prices has forced a number of oil services firms including Seadrill to scrap their dividends as oil majors accelerate cost-cutting efforts.

The STOXX oil and gas sector index has tumbled 23 percent since June, representing a wipeout in market capitalisation of roughly $240 billion, more than the entire market value of Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) , Europe's biggest oil major, Thomson Reuters data shows.

At 1145 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was up 1.1 percent at 1,396.47 points. The index fell 1.4 percent in the previous session after the European Central Bank stuck to its line that any decision on further stimulus would be made next year, sparking a bout of profit taking.

"People had bought the rumour and they sold the news. There was no major surprise in Draghi's speech. We're still betting on a slow recovery in the European economy," Barclays France director Franklin Pichard said.

Data on Friday showed German industry orders rose far more than forecast in October.

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

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

Around Europe, UK's FTSE 100 index was up 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX index up 1.2 percent, and France's CAC 40 up 1.2 percent.

Shares in Spanish state-rescued lender Bankia was down 2 percent, adding to the previous session's sharp losses.

Bankia presented a series of error-strewn accounts for 2011, the year it listed shares, according to a report released on Thursday as part of a long-running court investigation into its flotation and state bailout.

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

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

Today's European research round-up (Editing by Catherine Evans)