* Miners bounce back; Rio Tinto higher after results
* Banks fall back awaiting EU summit outcome
* Big batch of blue chip results prove mixed
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index was 0.5
percent higher at midday on Thursday, supported by commodities
while banks fell back ahead of a summit that could lay out a
rescue plan for debt-stricken Greece.
At 1138 GMT the FTSE 100 index <> was 23.90 points
higher at 5,155.89, but had drifted back from an early session
peak of 5,201.82.
"Market uncertainty could continue for a little while longer
with the finer details of the plan not due to be discussed by
(EU) ministers until next week," said Nick Serf, market analyst
at City Index.
"Although investors can see some light at the end of the
tunnel price action remains volatile, with rumour and
counter-rumour swirling around the market."
Miners provided the main prop for the FTSE 100 index,
recovering from a late slide on Wednesday as metal prices
bounced back after data showed a surge in employment in
Australia and stronger-than-expected bank lending in China.
Fresnillo <FRES.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L>, Vedanta Resources
<VED.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L>, and Antofagasta <ANTO.L> gained
2.1 to 2.6 percent.
Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, up 2.5 percent, also benefited from
reporting above-forecast second-half profits of $3.73 billion,
beating analysts' forecasts of around $3.08 billion. []
BHP Billiton <BLT.L> took on 2.3 percent. The global miner
notified Japanese steelmakers that it hopes to set prices for
coking coal every quarter instead of once a year, starting in
fiscal 2010, the Nikkei business daily reported. []
Oil majors rebounded after Wednesday's falls as crude <CLc1>
prices moved back above $75 a barrel, with BP <BP.L>, BG Group
<BG.L> and Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> up 1.0 to 1.5 percent.
But banks fell back ahead of the summit at which European
Union leaders will lay the groundwork for a financial rescue of
Greece later in the day.
Any support is likely to require a big commitment from
Athens on getting its economy in order. []
Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L>, Royal Bank of Scotland
<RBS.L>, Barclays <BARC.L>, and Standard Chartered <STAN.L> shed
0.5 to 3.2 percent. But HSBC <HSBA.L> held firm, up 0.5 percent.
Insurers stayed higher led by Aviva <AV.L>, up 1.9 percent
as hopes lingered of a possible break-up bid for the firm.
Resolution <RSL.L>, seen as a likely bidder for Aviva in
tandem with Prudential <PRU.L>, added 0.4 percent after issuing
a fourth-quarter new business update and saying the UK life
industry continues to demonstrate the need for consolidation.
[]
RESULTS ROULETTE
A big batch of results also stirred the market.
Engines maker Rolls-Royce <RR.L> took over the top spot in
the FTSE 100 index, up 6.2 percent after it posted a 4 percent
rise in full-year profit and said its 2010 performance would be
similar to 2009. []
Smith & Nephew <SN.L> gained 4.1 percent after Europe's
leading maker of replacement hips and knees met expectations
with a 22 percent rise in fourth-quarter earnings, and said its
markets had stabilised in the second half. []
But BT Group <BT.L> was the top blue chip faller, down 8.4
percent after the telecom carrier's third-quarter results came
in towards the upper end of forecasts but were overshadowed by
its pension liabilities. []
Drinks firm Diageo <DGE.L> shed 3.3 percent as the maker of
Smirnoff vodka and Guinness beer posted underlying earnings for
the half year to end-December of 44.2 pence a share, below a
consensus figure of 46.2 pence. []
With no significant UK data released on Thursday, investors
were looking to U.S. initial jobless data, released at 1330 GMT
for more guidance on how fast the global economy is recovering
from recession.
(Editing by Greg Mahlich)
