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Results, basic resources' bounce help European shares recover

LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - European shares inched up on Wednesday, as a rebound in basic resources stocks and some positive first-quarter results outweighed weakness in oil and gas stocks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.2 percent by 0720 GMT after hitting a three-week low on Tuesday.

Britain's FTSE erased its year-to-date gains as it extended Tuesday's losses, down 0.3 percent as gains in sterling weighed on its majority foreign-earning constituents.

Basic resources (Frankfurt: W8Z.F - news) were the top gainers, up 1 percent, while oil and gas stocks fell 0.5 percent as crude prices dipped on bloated U.S. supplies.

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Earnings, which began in earnest from European companies, were mixed.

Oil storage and services company Vopak was a top gainer after its first quarter results, up 5.5 percent.

British luxury group Burberry was the top European faller, down 6.1 percent after it reported a slight slowdown in fourth-quarter comparable sales growth rate, saying tough conditions in the U.S. outweighed 'exceptional' performance in its home market where tourists took advantage of the weaker pound.

German retailer Zalando (Swiss: OXZALG.SW - news) fell 5.4 percent after it said it was happy with its first-quarter despite margin pressure due to post-Christmas sales discounting.

French media group Vivendi (LSE: 0IIF.L - news) was the top CAC 40 faller after Italy's watchdog ordered the firm to cut its stake in Telecom Italia (Amsterdam: TI6.AS - news) or Mediaset (LSE: 0NE1.L - news) .

The Italian broadcaster was among top fallers, down 3.1 percent, while Telecom Italia fell 1.3 percent.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in British engineering group Cobham (Other OTC: CBHMF - news) fell 10 percent after 683 million new shares were added to trading in its rights issue raising 512.4 million pounds. (Reporting by Helen Reid; editing by John Stonestreet)