March 4 (Bloomberg) -- European energy stocks including Eni SpA and Total SA rose as oil prices traded above $53 a barrel, boosting optimism about profit growth in the industry.

Elan Corp., Ireland's biggest drugmaker, plunged after saying a second patient taking its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri has developed a fatal condition.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index fell 0.01 percent to 2924.93 at 8:14 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 600 fell less than 0.1 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50, a benchmark for the 12 countries using the euro, rose less than 0.1 percent.

Benchmarks may remain little changed in advance of a government report that may show the U.S., the world's largest economy, last month created the most jobs since October.

The Stoxx 50 Index has added 0.6 percent so far this week, heading for its fifth week of gains in six. The Stoxx 600 has advanced 0.4 percent while the Euro Stoxx 50 has risen 0.5 percent.

Eni, Europe's fourth-biggest oil producer, advanced for a seventh session, gaining 0.6 percent to 20.31 euros. Total, Europe's third-largest oil company, added 0.5 percent to 181.6 euros.

Crude oil for April delivery rose 1 percent to $53.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday, the highest closing price since Oct. 26. It earlier reached $55.20, just 47 cents short of the record high reached Oct. 25, before giving back three-quarters of the gain. The contract traded at $53.78 today.

Jobs Report

The U.S. Labor Department is scheduled to release its monthly report on jobs at 8:30 a.m. Washington time. Employers in Europe's largest export market probably added 225,000 workers to their payrolls in February, according to a Bloomberg News survey of 70 economists, while the unemployment rate is likely to be unchanged at a three-year low of 5.2 percent.

``The jobs figures will be a key feature today'' for stock markets, said Michael Gifford, who oversees about $463 million at F&C Asset Management Plc in London. ``That and the price for oil.''

Elan plunged 12 percent to 4.90 euros, taking the drop this week to 76 percent. The drugmaker said yesterday that a second patient taking Tysabri had developed a rare and usually fatal neurological condition.

Elan and its U.S. partner Biogen Idec Inc. withdrew the drug from the market Feb. 28 after a patient died from the condition called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.

Lloyds TSB Group Plc, the U.K.'s fifth-largest bank by assets, added 2.6 percent to 501 pence. Lloyds said 2004 profit dropped 26 percent to 2.42 billion pounds ($4.62 billion) because a gain on the sale of businesses in New Zealand and Brazil wasn't repeated. Net income beat the 2.33 billion-pound median estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 4, 2005 03:28 EST