* FTSE 100 up 0.3 pct by midday
* Oil majors, miners gain on rising commodity prices
* BA gains on pay cut agreement, Vodafone down
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index gained
0.3 percent by midday as a rebound in crude prices lifted energy
firms, while defensive tobacco stocks and drugmakers also rose
outweighing weakness in heavyweight Vodafone <VOD.L>.
By 1107 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> rose 11.04 points at
4,263.61, after falling 0.6 percent on Thursday's close.
Oil majors added the most points to the index, as crude oil
prices <CLc1> stayed above $71, with BG Group <BG.L>, BP <BP.L>
and Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> rising between 0.2 and 1.3
percent.
The FTSE 100 has risen 23 percent since the all-time low
hit in March. It touched a peak of 4,675.68 in May but fell back
to just above 4,200 last week as jitters about the state of the
global economy crept back.
Joshua Raymond, strategist at City Index said the market
could experience sideways movement as trading volumes fall in
the summer months.
"We're looking now towards the Q2 earnings season. We feel
that could just about be enough to dangle the carrot in front of
investors to start buying back and break above levels that are
handicapping us at the moment," he said.
In thin, skittish trading a 1.2 percent decline in mobile
operator Vodafone <VOD.L> weighed on the index, offsetting much
of the gains.
BA CLIMBS
British Airways <BAY.L> advanced 1.3 percent after it said
nearly 7,000 staff had agreed to voluntary pay cuts in a bid to
save the airline costs as it battles a downturn in travel
[].
Shares in drugmaker AstraZeneca <AZN.L> added 0.7 percent,
buoyed by a positive recommendation for its diabetes drug
Onglyza, which is partnered with Bristol-Myers Squibb <BMY.N>.
Banks were mixed, with HSBC <HSBA.L> and Royal Bank of
Scotland <RBS.L> adding 0.9 and 2.4 percent respectively.
Barclays <BARC.L>, Lloyds <LLOY.L> and Standard Chartered
<STAN.L> fell between 1 and 1.9 percent.
Britain plans to strengthen the role of the Financial
Services Authority, the Financial Times said on Friday, a day
after the government dismissed talks of a rift with the head of
the country's central bank over regulation. []
The Bank of England said on Friday that British banks look
in better shape than six months ago but are still vulnerable to
economic shocks. []
In a fresh sign of the health of the British economy,
employee-owned retailer John Lewis [], seen as a barometer
of British retail spending, said on Friday its 27 UK department
stores recorded their best week of the first half so far, partly
helped by significant purchases for Father's Day. []
High street peers Marks & Spencer <MKS.L> and Next <NXT.L>
gained 1.7 and 1 percent respectively.
In the absence of any important UK economic data, investors
in London will be eyeing U.S. May personal income and
consumption numbers, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation,
and the final reading of the University of Michigan Consumer
Sentiment index to gauge the condition of the U.S. economy.
(Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
