* FTSE up 3.1 pct, touches six-week high above 4,000
* Eyes on G20 meeting, co-ordinated stimulus moves
* Banks gain; Barclays bounce continues
* Oils, miners higher with metal and crude prices
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index was up
3.1 percent at midday on Thursday, led by banks and commodities,
on hopes for co-ordinated stimulus moves as leaders of the Group
of 20 gathered in London to discuss the global financial crisis.
By 1045 GMT, the FTSE 100 index <> was 122.75 points
higher at 4,078.36, climbing above the 4,000 level for the first
time since Feb. 19, after closing up 29.47 points on Wednesday.
"The FTSE is back through the psychologically important
4,000 level, driven by some strong UK and U.S. numbers over the
past few days," said Mark Foulds of ETX Capital.
"The start of the G20, and the likelihood that we will get a
global agreement on tackling the financial crisis, is also
giving the market a boost," he said.
Banks led the sector gainers, boosted by the rise in equity
markets and G20 stimulus hopes, with Barclays <BARC.L>, Royal
Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L>, HSBC
<HSBA.L> and Standard Chartered <STAN.L> up 5.3 to 9.2 percent.
World leaders are set to declare an end to unfettered
capitalism at the G20 summit after France and Germany demanded
they act fast on promises to prevent a repeat of the worst
economic crisis since the 1930s. []
"Concerns prevail over France and Germany reinstating a
Franco/German camp of truculence at G20, but this kind of
petulance will not work in the new G20 format - Mr Obama has
made that very clear: join in, do your bit or be left behind,"
said Manus Cranny, senior market commentator of MF Global
Spreads.
(For a TAKE A LOOK of the G20 summit, click on
[])
Commodity issues also added impetus to the FTSE advance as
oil and metal prices pushed higher on hopes for increased demand
from the G20 stimulus moves.
Kazakh miner Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> was the top FTSE 100 riser,
up 13.9 percent helped by Wednesday's results, while Vedanta
Resources <VED.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L> and
Rio Tinto <RIO.L> gained 7.1 to 12.7 percent.
A big shareholder in Rio Tinto, Hugh Young, global head of
equities at Aberdeen Asset Management, sees a proposed $19.5
billion investment by Chinese state-owned metals firm Chinalco
as good for the miner. []
Oil majors were in demand as crude prices <CLc1> jumped
above $51 a barrel, with Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, BG Group
<BG.L>, and BP <BP.L> up between 1.1 and 2.7 percent.
DATA PLEASES
British house prices rose in March for the first time since
October 2007, the Nationwide Building Society said, but it
cautioned against jumping to conclusions about a housing market
rebound.
Nationwide said house prices rose 0.9 percent on the month
in March after a 1.9 percent drop in February, taking the
average price of a house up to 150,946 pounds ($216,500).
In the United States, auto sales fell 37 percent in March, a
smaller-than-expected drop that encouraged hope that the world's
largest car market is nearing a bottom after a freefall that has
pulled the industry into a deepening crisis. []
Vodafone <VOD.L> was a notable faller, down 0.7 percent
having been boosted on Wednesday by broker upgrades.
The world's biggest mobile phone group by sales began due
diligence on Hansenet and looks set to bid for the German
Internet provider, the Daily Telegraph reported without citing
sources. []
Lloyds' underwriter Amlin <AML.L> fell 2.6 percent as Credit
Suisse cut its stance to "underperform" in a sector review.
And utilities were weak as their defensive attractiveness
waned, with Centrica <CNA.L>, Severn Trent <SVT.L>, Pennon Group
<PNN.L>, and Scottish & Southern Energy <SSE.L> falling between
0.9 and 1.2 percent.
The European Central Bank is expected to take euro zone
interest rates down to an all-time low of 1.0 percent in what
could be its last cut for some time, when it announces its rate
decision at 1145 GMT.
(Editing by Erica Billingham)
