* Retailers up; M&S, Next post forecast-beating results
* Banks rebound from previous sessions losses
* U.S. Federal Reserve decision eyed at 1915 GMT
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares added 0.9
percent by midday on Wednesday, boosted by gains in retailers
Marks & Spencer <MKS.L> and Next <NXT.L>, which posted
forecast-beating results, while financials and miners also rose.
By 1144 GMT the FTSE 100 <> was up 44.01 points at
5,081.22, clawing back some losses from Tuesday when the index
fell 1.3 percent to hit its lowest closing level in a month.
Next <NXT.L> climbed to the top of the blue chip gainers
list, up 6.2 percent after the high street retailer reported
higher-than-expected third-quarter sales and upgraded its sales
and profit guidance for the balance of the year. []
Rival retailer Marks & Spencer <MKS.L> put on 5.8 percent,
after it reported flat first-half profits towards the top end of
expectations as tight management of costs and stocks offset weak
sales.
Banks rebounded from Tuesday's falls as investors
re-evaluated the outlook for the sector following the 31 billion
pounds ($51.06 billion) in funding from the government agreed
for Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> and Royal Bank of Scotland
<RBS.L>
The part-nationalised lenders added 0.4 and 3.1 percent
respectively, while Barclays <BARC.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L> and
Standard Chartered <STAN.L> advanced 1 to 3.2 percent.
Gains on the index were exaggerated by low volume as
investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the conclusion of a
U.S. Federal Reserve meeting after European markets close on
Tuesday, while the Bank of England's policy decision is expected
on Thursday.
"There will be an element of nervousness ahead of the
interest rate decisions. The market will look for any signs that
we're getting closer to the idea that they could be starting to
consider that interest rates will need to go higher," said Henk
Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Wealth.
"Although, our expectation is that we won't see signs of
that, certainly from the Federal Reserve today," he said.
The Fed is seen affirming that policies to support the
economy will stay in place for some time while keeping interest
rates near zero. The BoE is expected to increase its
quantitative easing policy and keep interest rates unchanged.
[]
UPBEAT DATA
In a sign of an improvement in the economy, the British
services sector showed its strongest activity since the start of
the credit crunch in October 2008, the CIPS/Markit services PMI
data showed.
Meanwhile the outlook for retailers received a boost from
data showing British consumer morale hit its highest levels in
the last two months since April 2008, according to the
Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index. []
Investor focus later in the session will likely turn to the
U.S. ADP employment survey at 1315 GMT, which may provide some
insight into the outcome of U.S. October non-farm payrolls
numbers which are due on Friday.
Among other gainers on the FTSE 100, mining stocks advanced
after a rise in commodity prices on the back of a weak dollar
ahead of the Fed decision.
Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Lonmin <LMI.L>, Fresnillo <FRES.L>,
Randgold Resources <RRS.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and Kazakhmys
<KAZ.L> were up 3.2 to 5.5 percent.
Aviva <AV.L> led the life insurers higher, gaining 5.5
percent, with the firm shrugging aside results that were
slightly below forecasts as investors reacted positively to its
solvency position.
Legal & General <LGEN.L>, Old Mutual <OML.L>, Prudential
<PRU.L> and Standard Life <SL.L> added 0.2 to 1.9 percent.
On the downside, defensive issues fell out of favour as
investors' appetite for riskier stocks intensified. Drugmakers
AstraZeneca <AZN.L> and GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> lost 0.5 and 0.8
percent respectively, with Glaxo trading ex-dividend.
Overall ex-dividend factors knocked 9.40 points off the
index, with Intertek Group <ITRK.L> and Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L> <RDSb.L> also losing their dividend payout attractions.
Drinks firm Diageo <DGE.L> fell 0.8 percent as Barclays
Capital started coverage on the stock with an "underweight"
rating and a "negative" view on the sector.
($1=.6071 pounds)
(Editing by Mike Nesbit)
