* Miners, oils rally; commodity prices firmer
* Banks higher; Goldman Sachs results awaited
* AB Foods tops risers after results
By David Brett
LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares rose in
midsession trade on Tuesday, led by miners and oils buoyed by
commodity prices, and banks were firmer ahead of results from
Goldman Sachs <GS.N>.
By 1024 GMT, the FTSE 100 index <> was up 44.73 points
or 0.8 percent at 5,772.64, having closed down 0.3 percent on
Monday and down 1.4 percent on Friday.
Commodity stocks provided the main support for the index as
crude and metal prices rebounded, following falls in the
previous session, as appetite for risk returned.
Among the miners, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>,
Xstrata <XTA.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L> and Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>
gained 0.5 to 1.5 percent as base metal prices rose and gold
held steady.
Oil majors BP <BP.L>, BG Group <BG.L>, Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L> and Cairn Energy <CNE.L> added 0.1 to 1.1 percent as
crude <CLc1> rebounded from three-week lows on an increase in
jet fuel demand as some airspace across Europe began to re-open,
following the chaos caused by a volcanic ash cloud.
But Tullow Oil <TLW.L> topped the UK blue chip <>
fallers' list, off 1.4 percent after the London-based oil
explorer said the Dahoma-1 exploration well in Ghana encountered
water bearing reservoirs. [
The UK's Financial Services Authority caused jitters among
investors when it announced a formal probe into Goldman Sachs
<GS.N>. [ID:nLDE63J0TP]
However, despite an initial fall back, banks recovered as
investors hoped first-quarter numbers from the bank, due at 1100
GMT, would echo strong results from peer Citigroup <C.N.> on
Monday.
"The pull back in banks was in part an overreaction to the
FSA news and an excuse for some investors to make a quick buck
after this morning's gains," said Jimmy Yates, head of equities
at CMC Markets.
Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> rose 1.9 percent, also helped
by recent bullish broker comments, and peer Lloyds Banking Group
<LLOY.L> gained 1.4 percent.
Barclays <BARC.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, Standard Chartered
<STAN.L> added 0.4 to 0.6 percent.
News that aircraft were beginning to take off around Europe
lent support to some travel firms, with Thomas Cook <TCG.L> up
0.6 percent and mid cap easyJet <EZJ.L> 1.6 percent higher, also
helped by a JP Morgan upgrade.
But TUI Travel <TT.L>, Europe's biggest travel firm, was
down 0.4 percent as it announced plans to raise 500 million
pounds ($765.1 million) to fund acquisitions.
BREWER UPBEAT
Back among the blue-chip gainers, brewer SABMiller gained
3.3 percent after an upbeat trading statement. []
Food producer to clothing retailer AB Foods <ABF.L> topped
the FTSE risers list, up 4.9 percent after its first-half
results beat forecasts. []
On the downside, Tesco <TSCO.L>, the world's No.4 retailer,
shed 0.8 percent after signalling a slowdown in its main British
market, having met full-year profit forecasts. []
Peer WM.Morrison <MRW.L> was sold in tandem, losing 0.5
percent.
Publisher Reed Elsevier <REL.L> was also weak, down 1
percent after its trading update confirmed its forecast for a
slightly lower operating margin in 2010. []
British consumer price inflation sparked some nervousness,
after it rose more than expected in March. []
($1=.6535 Pound)
(Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
