* FTSE up 0.3 pct
* Miners firmer, fuelled by U.S. weekly jobs data
* Defensives wane as risk appetite remains
By David Brett
LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares climbed
higher by midday on Friday, with gains in miners and banks
outpacing falls in defensive stocks and BP <BP.L>, though the
index's recent rally showed signs of running out of steam.
By 1105 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> index was up 13.91 points,
or 0.3 percent, at 5,119.36, having closed higher for a third
consecutive day on Thursday, up 1.8 percent.
However, by midday, the index had traded just over 20
percent of its 90-day average volume as investors chose to sit
on the sidelines ahead of the second-quarter reporting season
from the U.S., which kicks off next week with Alcoa <AA.N>.
"Next week should be a interesting week for the market,"
said Jimmy Yates, head of equities at CMC Markets.
"When those earnings start coming in we'll get a clearer
sense of direction and whether clients feel that we can push on
from here."
Miners provided much of the upside on the FTSE 100, tracking
firmer base metal prices.
The demand outlook for raw materials improved after
Thursday's data showed a fall in new weekly U.S. claims for
unemployment benefits, offering cautious hope for the economic
recovery that had been showing signs of fatigue.
Antofagasta <ANTO.L> was the top performer, up 3.3 percent,
helped by a Citigroup upgrade to "buy" from "hold".
However, gold miner Randgold Resources <RRS.L> and mid-cap
peer Hochschild Mining <HOCM.L> bucked the sector trend, falling
1.0 and 3.6 percent, both hit by downgrades from Goldman Sachs.
After dipping back on Monday, the FTSE 100 index has powered
ahead in the other three sessions this week, putting on nearly
270 points, or 5.5 percent, since Friday's close.
However, the blue-chip index is still recovering from an
almost 10 percent fall between June 21 and July 1, when signs of
slowing global growth dented sentiment.
BANKS EBB AND FLOW
In choppy trade, Banks were big gainers on the FTSE 100,
adding to solid gains already made over the past three days as
investors focused on recent upbeat news on the sector.
Part-nationalised lender Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> was
1.5 percent higher, continuing to respond well to Thursday
reports that two senior banking figures have joined forces to
back a new bid vehicle which will list on the London stock
market and look to purchase British banking assets.
[]
Peers HSBC <HSBA.L> and Standard Chartered <STAN.L> rose 0.8
and 0.7 percent respectively.
Other financials also featured on the upside, with Legal and
General <LGEN.L> up 3.2 percent and Prudential <PRU.L> 3.0
percent higher.
Stocks seen as defensive were among the blue-chip fallers as
investors' risk appetite partly remained, with pharma issues the
worst off, led by GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> down 1.4 percent.
National Grid <NG.L> was the biggest FTSE 100 decliner, down
1.9 percent, hit further by Thursday's downgrade by Citigroup.
BP <BP.L> was a heavy weight on the index, down 0.8 percent
as traders booked profits following a 21 percent rise since June
29.
The stock, however, remains down over 44 percent since its
major oil spill began in the Gulf of Mexico in late April.
British factory gate inflation slowed more than expected to
a three-month low in June but Britain's trade gap for goods and
services unexpectedly hit its widest since July 2008, official
data showed on Friday. []
Helping temper gains in London, U.S. stock index futures
pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street ahead of May U.S.
wholesale inventories, which will be the only data of interest
released on Friday.
(Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
