LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - European stocks ticked up in early trade on Tuesday, breaking a four-day losing run as investors bought banks, which have endured a battering this year, and energy shares. At 0809 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index was up 0.7 percent at 815.34 points. The benchmark has fallen 46 percent this year, punctured by a credit crisis that forced governments to bail out big banks and tipped economies into recession. HSBC (HSBA.L) added most points to the index, gaining 2.2 percent, while UBS (UBSN.VX) rose 1.4 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) advanced 3.9 percent. Crude stayed below $40 a barrel but oil shares BP (BP.L) and Total (TOTF.PA) gained more than 1 percent. With 2008 drawing to a close, analysts said they saw more declines for much of next year. "We see a 25-30 percent decline in earnings next year, which is a substantial headwind for equities," said Franz Wenzel, strategist at AXA Investment Managers in Paris. "But the speed at which earnings decline will slow by mid-2009, and we would not rule out a 20 to 30 percent stock market rally by the end of the year," he said. "So it will be a two-tier year: low for the first half or three-quarters, followed by year-end gains and an economic recovery."

Source