* Oils gain as crude rises; BP upgraded by Goldman
* Miners up as metal prices recover
* Banks turn higher; HSBC rallies
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index was
0.7 percent higher approaching midday on Friday, lifted out of
some earlier doldrums by strength in oils, miners and banks, and
after some upbeat European data.
At 1145 GMT, the FTSE 100 index <> was 37.29 points
higher at 5,254.90, after closing 102.65 points, or 1.9 percent,
lower on Thursday.
"Business confidence numbers for Germany have climbed more
than the market was expecting and this seems to be lifting the
mood towards equities at the end of the week," said Anthony
Grech, market strategist at IG Index.
The Munich-based Ifo think tank said its business climate
index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms, rose to
94.7 from 93.9 in November. []
"With nothing of any note on the calendar for the rest of
the day, markets may well just end up trading in a tight range,
consolidating the morning's sharp moves," Grech said.
Oil majors provided the biggest lift for blue chips with the
sector rallying in tandem with a firmer crude price <CLc1> and
helped by an upbeat sector review from Goldman Sachs.
BP <BP.L> gained 2.0 percent after Goldman hiked its rating
for the oil major to "buy" from "neutral". BG Group <BG.L> and
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> added 1.3 and 2.2 percent
respectively, with the broker raising target prices for the two.
Heavyweight miners also found support as metal prices
recovered following Thursday's falls with recent dollar strength
fading. Randgold Resources <RRS.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>,
Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Vedanta Resources <VED.L>, BHP Billiton
<BLT.L> and Rio Tinto <RIO.L> gained 1.5 to 3.0 percent.
Mobile telecoms heavyweight Vodafone <VOD.L> also lent the
market its strength, up 1.4 percent after Nomura hiked its
target price for the company in a review of European telcos.
BANKS MOVE UP
Banking issues were pulled into positive territory thanks to
a rally by sector heavyweight HSBC <HSBA.L>, up 1.1 percent, and
with Standard Chartered <STAN.L> gaining, ahead 0.9 percent.
However, the rest of the sector remained mired in the red,
extending Thursday's falls on the back of concerns over tough
new Basel capital regulations. Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>,
Barclays <BARC.L> and Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> lost 1.0 to
2.2 percent.
Disposals that Lloyds agreed to as compensation for taking
state aid were a "very fair deal" but it has no plans to sell
the assets soon, its chief executive told the Financial Times.
[]
Life insurers were weak after a recent rally, led by
Prudential <PRU.L>, down 0.8 percent, while Old Mutual <OML.L>,>
and Standard Life <SL.L> shed 0.6 and 0.3 percent, respectively.
The Bank of England, however, said Britain's financial
sector looked in better shape than it did six months ago, and it
has urged banks to take advantage of current funding conditions
to shore up balance sheets.
But British consumer confidence fell in December for a
second consecutive month, the first time since July 2008 that
confidence fell two months in a row, a survey by GfK NOP for the
European Commission showed on Friday. []
Temporary power provider Aggreko <AGGK.L> was the top FTSE
250 <> gainer, up 4.9 percent after hitting an all-time
high following an upbeat trading statement and ahead of the
stock's promotion to blue chip status with effect from Monday.
Aggreko will replace Rentokil Initial <RTO.L> which drops
back to the FTSE 250 index. Rentokil shares added 0.4 percent,
buoyed by recent positive broker comment.
(Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
