* FTSE 100 up 1.7 percent
* Commodity stocks, banks add most points
* JP Morgan results eyed
By Simon Falush
LONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index rallied
to its highest in over a year on Wednesday, powered by gains in
commodity stocks and banks as results from Intel Corp <INTC.O>
fuelled optimism on the demand outlook.
By 1024 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was 1.7 percent or 86.00
points higher at 5,240.15, having touched its highest since late
September 2008, after closing 1.1 percent weaker on Tuesday.
Intel's quarterly outlook and results soared past
expectations on Tuesday, sending its shares 7 percent higher and
lifting hopes the corporate results season would provide more
evidence the global economy was recovering fast.
"Companies are beating consensus, there's a higher level of
liquidity in the equity markets and the macro-economic picture
is improving," said Henk Potts, strategist at Barclays Wealth.
"That's a powerful mix of positivity that's contributed to
the recent gains."
Miners led the FTSE 100 index higher, tracking stronger
metal prices which were bolstered by a weaker dollar <.DXY> as
well as an improved demand outlook. Gold <XAU=>, which has
gained over 13 percent since September, hit a fresh record high.
Rio Tinto <RIO.L> added 5.1 percent after raising its
production guidance for iron ore this year by 5-7.5 percent to
210-215 million tonnes, after reporting a 12 percent jump in
third-quarter output. []
Xstrata <XTA.L>, Lonmin <LMI.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>,
Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> and Fresnillo <FRES.L> added up to 5.4
percent.
Energy stocks were also solidly higher as crude <CLc1>
sailed to around $75 per barrel, touching its highest in nearly
12 months. BG Group <BG.L>, BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L>, BP <BP.L> and Cairn Energy <CNE.L> added 1.9-2.9
percent.
Data also helped lift the mood. Figures showed unemployment
rose less than expected, with the number of Britons claiming
jobless benefit rising at the slowest pace since May 2008.
[]
JPMORGAN EYED
Investors were awaiting earnings news from JPMorgan Chase
<JPM.N>, scheduled for release on Wednesday, with Citigroup
<C.N> and Goldman Sachs <GS.N> due to report on Thursday, and
Bank of America <BAC.N> and General Electric <GE.N> on Friday.
Ahead of the results from their peers, British banks were
also firmer, benefiting from a broadly improved risk appetite.
Barclays <BARC.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, Royal Bank of Scotland
<RBS.L> and Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> were up 2.5-4.3
percent.
Drugmakers moved higher too, with GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>,
AstraZeneca <AZN.L> and Shire <SHP.L> adding 0.7-1.2 percent.
A key U.S. Senate committee endorsed a sweeping healthcare
overhaul on Tuesday, gaining the support of an influential
Republican and delivering President Barack Obama a victory on
his top domestic priority. []
Among individual gainers, Burberry <BRBY.L> added 3.5
percent after beating second-quarter revenue forecasts, helped
by demand for handbags and leather goods. []
Among a relatively short list of fallers, shares in
International Power <IPR.L> shed 2.7 percent, heading the FTSE
100 fallers after Morgan Stanley cut the power firm's rating to
'equal-weight' from 'overweight' in a cautious review of
European utilities.
Diageo <DGE.L> was also a standout loser, down 2.8 percent
after the spirits group said underlying sales fell a
sharper-than-expected 6 percent in its first quarter.
[]
British Land <BLND.L> and Tesco <TSCO.L> fell after trading
ex-dividend.
After the JPMorgan results, due around 1100 GMT, the focus
will shift to U.S. September retail sales, scheduled for release
at 1230 GMT, and publication of the minutes of the Sept. 22-23
FOMC meeting, due out at 1800 GMT.
