* FTSE 100 up 0.6 pct; U.S. jobs data awaited
* Miners bounce back on Australian tax compromise
* Oil explorers boosted by Dana bid approach
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index pushed
higher around midday on Friday, recovering some of the big falls
the previous session, with miners lifted by an Australian tax
compromise deal and investors awaiting a key U.S. jobs report.
At 1055 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> index was up 27.47 points,
or 0.6 percent at 4,833.22, having tumbled 2.3 percent on
Thursday to hit its lowest close since Sept. 3, 2009.
U.S stocks index futures <DJc1>, <SPC1>, <NDc1> pointed to a
modestly firmer start on Wall Street on Friday, following a weak
performance in the previous session, but investors were focused
on the always-volatile U.S. jobs report, due at 1230 GMT.
June U.S. non-farm payrolls are forecast to have fallen by
110,000, after a 431,000 increase in May, with the unemployment
rate seen at 9.8 percent, up from 9.7 percent.
"Bearing in mind that U.S. markets are closed for a holiday
on Monday it could well be a downbeat finish to the week with
investors reluctant to open up any new positions ahead of the
long weekend," said Anthony Grech, head of research at IG Index.
Wall Street will be shut on Monday for a holiday after the
U.S. Independence Day celebrations on Sunday.
Miners were higher in London, with Xstrata <XTA.L> standing
out, up 3.8 percent, as the sector bounced back after being
knocked on Thursday by demand concerns following disappointing
Chinese manufacturing data.
Australia ended a damaging dispute with the sector on Friday
by dumping its "super profits" tax for a lower resources rent
tax backed by big miners, clearing a major hurdle to call an
early election. []
Banks were the biggest sector gainers, squeezed higher after
recent sharp falls, with Lloyds Banking Group LLOY.L>, Barclays
<BARC.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, and Royal Bank Of Scotland <RBS.L> up
0.4 to 3.3 percent.
HSBC said on Friday it would buy the Indian retail and
commercial banking businesses of RBS, paying a premium of up to
$95 million over the tangible net asset value of the businesses
when the deal completes. []
OILS SUPPORTED
Integrated oils rallied as the crude price <CLc1> steadied,
with BG Group <BG.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, and BP <BP.L>
up 0.7 to 2.2 percent.
Oil explorers also saw good demand helped by consolidation
moves in the sector, with blue chips Cairn Energy <CNE.L> and
Tullow Oil <TLW.L> up 4.7 and 4.2 percent, respectively, while
mid cap Premier Oil <PMO.L> gained 7 percent.
Mid cap Dana Petroleum <DNX.L> sparked the excitment,
leaping 19 percent after the Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC)
confirmed it was in "very preliminary" talks over a cash offer
for the British firm. []
Building supplies firm Wolseley <WOS.L> was a top blue chip
gainer, up 2.5 percent on a read-across from a bullish trading
update by mid cap peer Travis Perkins <TPK.L>, up 4.9 percent.
Among the losers, defensively-perceived issues took a tumble
as the risk appetite swung against them once more.
Mobile telecoms heayweight Vodafone <VOD.L> was the biggest
drag on the blue chips, down 1.6 percent after recent gains.
Household products firm Reckitt Benckiser <RB.L> also beat a
retreat, down 1.7 percent, while weaker pharma issues weighed
too, with GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>m AstraZeneca <AZN.L>, and
Shire <SHP.L> losing 0.2 to 0.4 percent.
"Overall, the market still looks decidedly unhealthy after
the slides seen in the last couple of weeks. The risk remains
that brief rallies will end up being just that, and will be
viewed as an opportunity to sell into strength rather than a
sign of confidence returning," said IG Index's Grech.
(Editing by Mike Nesbit)
