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Monday July 16, 6:59 PM Europe shares tick up by midday; ABN boosts banks LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) - European stocks ticked higher by midday on Monday as the bid battle for ABN AMRO heated up, lifting financial shares, but oil producers slipped on brokerage comments despite crude near record levels. At 1050 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.15 percent at 1,629.71 points, helped also by a JPMorgan upgrade of British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline . But both British and French benchmarks were lower, weighed down by weakness in BP , Shell and Total . Banking shares rose after a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland revised its offer for ABN AMRO, raising the cash component to 93 percent from about 79 percent, though it kept the overall bid at 38.4 euros per share. European shares have risen 10 percent this year, buoyed by mergers and acquisitions and broadly strong company earnings helped by booming economies in Asia. "We have a positive view on the market, and feel that globalisation is bringing structurally higher margins to equities," said Thierry Lacraz, a European strategist at Pictet and Cie. "Earnings will grow this quarter, and the speed of growth is less important than the fact that we have another quarter of growth." ABN gained 4 percent, while Barclays , which has made a rival offer for the Dutch financial group, rose 1.5 percent. Of the two other members of the RBS consortium, Spanish bank Santander rose 0.1 percent, while Belgium's Fortis fell 0.8 percent. "M&A activity is far from over, and it's buoyant in every sector," said Jean-Francois Virolle, chief strategist at Global Equities in Paris. "So far, rising interest rates have had a limited impact, and it could take a while before we see the recent frenzy slowing down." Among top losers, Lonmin , the world's third-biggest platinum producer, tumbled 7 percent after cutting its full-year sales forecast. Citigroup also cut its rating on the stock. Germany's DAX index outperformed its French and British peers, trading little changed. OIL IN SIGHT OF RECORD Index heavyweight oil shares slipped despite a rise in the price of crude to $77.70 a barrel, within striking range of its all-time high of $78.65. "People are taking a view that may be we've seen the highs for now," said a trader. Royal Dutch Shell fell 1 percent after HSBC cut its rating on the stock, while BP slipped 0.9 percent as Credit Suisse trimmed its earnings estimates. France's Total lost 1.4 percent, making it the top negative weight on the index. Lacraz said that he still viewed the oil price as a positive but noted that central banks would be waiting and watching. "I prefer a high oil price; it's a sign that growth is global and coordinated. It's not a risk in itself but this oil price will push central banks to look longer at inflation." A weak U.S. dollar versus the euro kept a downward pressure on European exporters. The dollar held near record lows against the euro on Monday. "We might see some profit-taking on currency-sensitive shares because the European market is in danger that the dollar becomes even weaker," said Achim Matzke, European stock indexes analyst at Commerbank. Among automakers, DaimlerChrysler was down 0.4 percent, while Fiat lost 1.2 percent. BHP Billiton , the world's biggest mining company, dropped 1.1 percent after the Financial Times said it had asked Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan to weigh the merits of it making a bid for Alcoa after the U.S. aluminium producer withdrew its bid for Alcan last week. (Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson in Paris)