* Lloyds Banking Group leads gains in banks
* Energy, miners fall; commodity prices weaken
* WPP rises after better-than-expected revenue
By Simon Falush
LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index looked
set to end the month crawling into positive territory by midday
on Friday as U.S. data from the previous session helped lift
banks, offsetting weak commodities.
At 1158 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was up 6.82 points or 0.1
percent at 5,144.54, having risen 1.1 percent the previous
session, lifted by the U.S. growth data.
The U.S. on Thursday posted a 3.5 percent rise in gross
domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter, signalling the
country's exit from the recession.
"The market is extraordinarily sensitive to economic data...
and after the (U.S. GDP) data people are very reluctantly
recognising that there is a bit of growth in the world economy,"
said Steven Bell, director at hedge fund GLC.
The UK benchmark index is up 49 percent since hitting a low
in March. After three straight months of hefty gains from July
to September the index looks set to edge in to positive
territory for the month of October.
However, as the month drew to a close, trading was thin as
investors stood on the sideline with volumes well below the
average for the last 90 trading days.
Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> led banks higher, up 4.6
percent, benefiting from plans to raise capital as an
alternative to a government-backed scheme to insure bad debts,
prompting Credit Suisse and Exane BNP Paribas to up their
ratings.
Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, also thought to be looking
at plans to reduce its exposure to the government's asset
protection scheme, was up 0.8 percent while Barclays <BARC.L>,
HSBC <HSBA.L> and Standard Chartered <STAN.L> were up 0.1 to 1.8
percent.
Elsewhere among financials, hedge fund Man Group <EMG.L> was
the top blue-chip gainer, up 5.2 percent, with analysts saying
it was benefiting from its exposure to the U.S. capital markets
after the strong U.S. data on Thursday.
Helping to support positive sentiment in the market, British
house prices rose for a sixth month running in October to
register the first annual gain since early 2008, the Nationwide
Building Society said. []
British consumer confidence also rose in October, at its
highest level since January 2008, after improvements in the
financial situations of households, a monthly survey by GfK NOP
showed. []
WPP group <WPP.L> rose 4.56 percent after the advertising
firm posted a smaller-than-expected fall in third-quarter
like-for-like revenue and said it would improve profitability in
the second half. []
COMMODITIES SLIDE
Commodity stocks were weaker, cancelling out most of the
gains, with miners retreating after early gains as metal price
slipped.
Among miners, Anglo American <AAL.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>,
Xstrata <XTA.L> and Vedanta Resources <VED.L> fell between 0.2
and 2.2 percent.
However, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> added 0.4 percent after saying it
planned to double its capital expenditure next year to at least
$5 billion and saw signs of economic recovery. []
Energy majors took the most points off the index with crude
prices <CLc1> falling below $80 a barrel after a 3 percent jump
in the previous session. BG Group <BG.L>, BP <BP>L> and Royal
Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> shed 0.4 to 0.7 percent.
Later in the session, focus will turn to a slew of economic
data from the United States, including the Federal Reserve's
favoured measure of inflation.
September personal income and consumption numbers are due at
1230 GMT and the core PCE price index is seen rising 0.2
percent, after a 0.1 percent rise in August.
Also set for release later in the session are the New York
October ISM index, Chicago October PMI report, and the final
reading for the October University of Michigan consumer
sentiment index.
(Editing by Karen Foster)
