* FTSE up 0.2 pct
* Fresnillo rises, JP Morgan says miners among its top picks
* Vodafone gains on SFR sale
By David Brett
LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - Commodity stocks led Britain's
top share index higher on Monday, as brokers urged investors to
keep buying, and further M&A activity lent support, with
Vodafone selling its stake in SFR for $11.3 billion to Vivendi.
By 1117 GMT the FTSE 100 <> was up 13.92 points, or 0.2
percent, at 6,023.84, having hit a nearly six-week closing high
on Friday after solid U.S. jobs data boosted confidence
surrounding recovery momentum in the World's largest economy.
Volumes were light, however, with the FTSE trading just 31
percent off its average 90-day volume at midday.
London's blue chips have rallied near 8 percent since their
2011-low on March 15, as investors' confidence has returned
following the shock of Japan's earthquake.
Risk sensitive sectors were the top performers in the FTSE
100, led by speciality mining stocks <.FTNMX1770> and integrated
oils <.FTNMX0530> as bullish sentiment surrounding the global
economic recovery offset concerns over political upheaval in
North Africa and the Middle East and Europe's debt crisis.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo <FRES.L> gained 3 percent as
gold rose back above $1,430 against a weakening dollar, ahead of
the European Central Bank's (ECB) next interest rate decision.
The ECB is expected to raise interest rates on Thursday,
with bets increasing that the Bank of England as well as the
U.S. Federal Reserve might follow suit.
JP Morgan chose miners among its top sector picks in a note
on European equity strategy which also included: capital goods,
mining, autos, technology, insurance and banks.
"Stay positive on equities, keep buying any dips; Cyclicals
(will be a) key beneficiary of broadening recovery and rising
bond yields," JP Morgan said.
The broker said dividends, share buybacks and mergers and
acquisitions would further boost the appeal of equities.
M&A BOOST
Vodafone <VOD.L> rose 0.9 percent, as the market welcomed
its move to sell its 44 percent stake in French telecoms
operator SFR for 7.75 billion euros ($11.02 billion) to Vivendi
<VIV.PA>.
On Friday Nasdaq OMX <NDAQ.O> and IntercontinentalExchange
<ICE.N> launched an $11.3 billion bid for NYSE Euronext <NYX.N>
in an effort to trump Deutsche Boerse's deal.
"M&A is certainly helping sentiment," Keith Bowman, equity
analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said.
Aggreko <AGGK.L> was up 4.8 percent, as the temporary power
provider prepared to ship gas and diesel generators to Japan
which will provide emergency electricity supplies to the grid
from June.
Sandy Jadeja, chief technical analyst at City Index, said
that momentum on the FTSE 100 from a technical point of view was
"still bullish, but looking a little bit overstretched, which
could suggest sideways movement".
He pointed to a resistance area at 6,050 to 6,117, adding
that the index needs to hold above 5,908, a level which, if
broken, could see the index come down to 5,845, or 5,804.
Banks <.FTNMX8350> weighed most on the FTSE, with sector
sentiment dampened by worries over the debt situation in
Portugal and Ireland, and the potential tightening of
regulations surrounding their capital requirements.
($1=.7031 euros)
(Additional reporting by Tricia Wright and Simon Jessop;
Editing by Greg Mahlich)
