* FTSE 100 gains 0.8, hits high since June 2008
* Vodafone, Barclays up as results please investors
* Miners firm as copper nears all-time peak
By Simon Falush
LONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Firm results from mobile operator
Vodafone <VOD.L> and lender Barclays <BARC.L> combined with
strength among mining stocks on Tuesday to lift Britain's top
share index to a 29-month high.
By 1118 GMT the FTSE 100 <> was up 44.27 points, or
0.8 percent, at 5,894.23, after closing down 0.4 percent on
Monday. The index touched its highest since June 2008, is up 9
percent this year and has jumped 23 percent since hitting a
year's low on July 1.
The index rose to a 29-month closing high on Friday as
investors cheered the U.S. Federal Reserve's commitment on
Wednesday to extend quantitative easing.
Renewed doubts about peripheral euro zone economies helped
douse optimism on Monday. Ireland was the latest cause of
concern as borrowing costs there extended a month-long climb on
worries about a political impasse ahead of a budget vote.
However the focus on Tuesday returned to the health of the
UK corporate sector, with Vodafone adding most points to the
blue-chip index after it raised its profit outlook and agreed to
sell its interests in Japanese carrier SoftBank <9984.T> for 3.1
billion pounds ($5 billion). []
Barclays added 2.5 percent after a sharp improvement in its
bad debts that lifted the bank's underlying third-quarter profit
and boosted the sector, with the UK banking index <.FTNMX8350>
up 1 percent. []
"It's all down to wonderful results and nothing else," David
Buik, senior partner at BGC Partners, said.
"We have got out of the market place where we were
anaesthetised by QE last week, paused for thought yesterday
while we looked for somewhere to hang our hat and now Vodafone
and Barclays have come through."
Elsewhere among financials, Schroders <SDR.L> rose 3.8
percent after it outpaced third-quarter market expectations,
with sales bolstered by overseas clients. []
MINERS GAIN
Miners also provided strong support to the index as gold hit
a record high <XAU=> and copper hit a 27-month peak <MCU3=LX>.
Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and Antofagasta <ANTO.L> added 1.9 percent.
Randgold Resources <RRS.L> was the standout gainer, up 4.4
percent after it said third-quarter profits more than doubled to
$28.2 million.
Energy firms also added to strength for the index as crude
<CLc1> futures hit a two-year high after the International
Energy Agency said oil may exceed $100 per barrel by 2015. BP
<BP.L> added 2.9 percent.
Technical indicators pointed to further strength, analysts
said.
"Currently the index seems to be en route for the next key
level of 6,050 - 6,117," Sandy Jadeja, chief technical analyst
at City Index, said.
"As long as short-term support (at) 5,748 is not violated,
the week ahead should remain positive with minor pullbacks
taking place along the way."
However, while corporate results have been strong, some
analysts think further strength will be hard to achieve.
"The Q3 earnings season has exceeded expectations but there
is uncertainty about whether the momentum can be maintained,"
Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown, said.
And data also pointed to tough times ahead for those
companies with big exposure to the UK economy. British
manufacturing growth slowed to its weakest pace in five months
in September, reinforcing fears of an economic slowdown.
British house prices fell at the sharpest pace in a year and
a half as a lack of mortgage finance and uncertain economic
outlook deterred buyers, a survey indicated. []
Intercontinental Hotels <IHG.L> slipped 5.2 percent, the
heaviest FTSE 100 faller, with investors booking gains after
recent strength even though it reported a 5 percent increase in
third-quarter revenue.
(Additional reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by David Holmes)
