* FTSE 100 up 1.8 pct by midday
* Oils and miners top-weighted gainers
* British Airways soars as holds profit forecast
* U.S. jobs data due 1330 GMT
By Dominic Lau
LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 <> rose
1.8 percent by midday on Friday ahead of key U.S. jobs data, as
commodity stocks bounced after the previous session's sharp fall
and British Airways <BAY.L> soared as it held its profit
forecast.
By 1134 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was up 76.54 points at
4,348.95, after slumping 5.7 percent on Thursday following the
Bank of England's bigger-than-expected 1.5 percentage point
interest rate cut.
British Airways climbed 15.6 percent to top the FTSE 100
gainers' list after the airline stuck to its forecast for a
small operating profit this year and lifted its revenue target.
[]
Energy stocks were the top-weighted gainers on firmer crude
prices <CLc1>, adding nearly 36 points to the index. Among
individual stocks, BP <BP.L> advanced 4.6 percent and Royal
Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> gained 3 percent.
"Investors seem to be seeking out sources of income and ...
oil multinationals would find support given their well covered
dividend," said Tim Whitehead, head of portfolio services at
Redmayne-Bentley.
In the commodity sector, miners tracked stronger metal
prices. Vedanta Resources <VED.L> surged 6.2 percent, Lonmin
<LMI.L> put on 4.2 percent, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> added 3.4 percent
and Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> rose 4.6 percent.
Credit ratings agency Moody's said Rio Tinto would lose
income in 2009 as prices for key products such as copper,
aluminium and iron ore decline, and as the value of assets it
plans to sell slips.
"As for whether this (BoE rate cut) will help to find a
floor for the market, I am not too sure. It has been a sharp
recovery in the last couple of weeks. The Dow Jones <> will
largely dictate where we go in the short term," Whitehead said.
U.S. non-farm payrolls data, due at 1330 GMT, will provide a
further gauge of the health of the world's largest economy.
Economists polled by Reuters expected a loss of 200,000 jobs in
October.
U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, completing the worst two-day
slide since October 1987 as disappointing corporate outlooks and
bleak sales from major retailers fuelled fears of a deepening
economic downturn. In Japan, the Nikkei average <> shed 3.6
percent.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see (the FTSE 100) to move down
towards 4,000," Whitehead added.
The FTSE 100, yielding more than 5 percent, would then be
more attractive compared with cash and government bonds, he
said, though investors should remain cautious as corporate
earnings would surprise on the downside in the next two
quarters.
The FTSE 100 has fallen more than 32 percent so far this
year, part of a global sell-off on concerns that the world
economy may be heading into a deep and prolonged recession.
Banks were also higher on Friday, with the FTSE 350 banks
index <.FTNMX8350> rising 0.8 percent. Barclays <BARC.L> was up
3.5 percent, Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> added 4.9 percent
and Lloyds TSB <LLOY.L> strengthened 3.7 percent.
Private equity firm 3i Group <III.L> shed 3.9 percent,
extending the previous session's near 13 percent fall after it
said first-half revenues from company disposals were down 43
percent as the credit crunch had made it more difficult to sell
companies in which it had invested.
(Additional reporting by Harpreet Bhal; editing by John
Stonestreet)
