FTSE up as Basel ruling, China data buoy investors

                                
 * FTSE up 1.1 pct
                                
 * Investors buoyant after banks ruling, China data
                                
 * AB Foods down after trading update
                                
 
                                
 By David Brett
                                
 LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares rose by
midday on Monday as new banking rules published on Sunday came
in less severe than expected and bullish production data from
China increased investors' appetite for riskier assets.
                                
 By 1053 GMT, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> was up 61.97 points, or
1.1 percent, at 5,563.61, having hit a four-month closing high
on Friday, up 0.1 percent at 5,501.64.
                                
 Banks <.FTNMX8350> rose sharply after global regulators
agreed to force them to more than triple the amount of
top-quality capital they must hold in reserve, but gave the
lenders transition periods up to January 2019 or later, to
comply with the rules. [ID:nLDE68B0BP]
                                
 Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> gained 3.0 percent.
                                
 UK insurer Prudential <PRU.L> added 2.7 percent, hitting an
eight-month high, after the Sunday Times newspaper reported that
a group of Chinese investors are in the early stages of
considering a takeover offer for the company. [ID:nLDE68B0BD]
                                
 The FTSE 100 is trading well above the key 61.8 percent
Fibonacci retracement of the April peak to July low, and is seen
going even higher.
                                
 "The month of September is likely to bring an increase in
volume and volatility and judging from the current chart pattern
we may see higher prices for the week ahead," Sandy Jadeja,
technical analyst at City Index said, adding the next
significant level for the FTSE is the 5,610 level.
                                
 
                                
 U.S. SEEN FIRMER
                                
 Wall Street futures looked to a positive opening on Monday,
having closed last week with its seventh gain in eight sessions
in a turnaround that has seen investors' worst fears about the
economy start to dissipate.
                                
 Bullish optimism was underpinned by data from China, which
showed factories increased production in August and money growth
easily topped analysts' expectations. [ID:nTOE68A00H]
                                
 "It's a question now of convincing the markets that what
we're seeing in China is simply very strong growth rather than
overheating, and today's figures tend to suggest the former,"
Richard Hunter, head of UK Equities at Hargreaves Lansdown
Stockbrokers said.
                                
 The data sparked demand for energy <.FTNMX0530> and mining
<.FTNMX1770> stocks, which rose in tandem with commodities, as
crude <CLc1> gained $1 a barrel and metals prices climbed across
the board.
                                
 Copper miner Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> rose 3.6 percent to top the
FTSE 100 <.FTSE> leaderboard, outperforming a sector-wide
uptick, after breaching key resistance at around 1,300 pence.
                                
 Elsewhere, Wolseley <WOS.L> gained 3.4 percent and mid cap
peer Travis Perkins <TPK.L> added 3.3 percent after Morgan
Stanley said in a note both stocks have company-specific growth
drivers and remain attractively valued despite weakening macro
data.
                                
 On the downside, Associated British Foods <ABF.L> shares
fell 3.3 percent after sales growth at its Primark fashion
retailer slowed over the summer months and it warned of lower
profit margins at the retailer due to higher cotton costs and
increased taxes. [ID:nLDE6890KI]
 (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)