* Miners, oil majors up as commodity prices rise
* Media climbs; Pearson jumps after H1
* Bank sector main drag
* Defensives weak; Rexam falls on likely fund-raising
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index gained
0.5 percent by midday on Monday, on course to extend its winning
run to a record-equaling 11th straight session as strength in
commodity issues and media offset weakness in defensive stocks.
By 1049 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was 22.86 points higher at
4,599.47 points after closing at a 6-1/2 month peak of 4,576.61
points on Friday.
"After proving to be a ceiling for so long, many are hoping
that the 4,500 level will now become the floor to any
weaknesses, with dips back to here expected to tempt out fresh
buyers," said David Jones, chief market strategist at spread
betters IG Index.
The index has risen almost 11 percent over the past two
weeks on reassuring U.S. corporate earnings results, and is up
over 32 percent since a year low hit in March. It would equal
the last longest winning run, which was between December 2003
and January 2004.
Oil majors added the most points to the index as crude
prices <CLc1> rose to $68.50 on brighter economic prospect. BP
<BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, and Tullow Oil <TLW.L> added
between 1.1 and 1.8 percent.
Miners were also up, with Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Anglo
American <AAL.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Eurasian Natural
Resources <ENRC.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and
Xstrata <XTA.L> ahead between 0.5 and 2.6 percent.
Platinum miner Lonmin <LMI.L> stood out, up 3.7 percent as
Goldman Sachs upped its rating to "neutral" from "sell".
Pearson <PSON.L> was the top FTSE 100 gainer, up 9.4 percent
after the publishing group said it was trading ahead of
expectations which allowed it to stick to its full-year outlook.
[]
Elsewhere within the media sector, BSkyB <BSY.L>, Reed
Elseview <REL.L>, Thomson Reuters <TRIL.L> and WPP <WPP.L>
climbed between 0.3 and 3.2 percent.
Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> gained 4.0 percent as Nomura
raised its rating to "buy" from reduce" in a review of the UK
banking sector. Royal Bank of Scotland gained 2.2 percent.
However, overall the banking sector was the main drag on the
blue chips as heavyweight HSBC <HSBA.L> shed 0.6 percent, while
Barclays <BARC.L> lost 1.6 percent.
REXAM TINNED
Rexam <REX.L> was the biggest blue chip faller, down 9.2
percent after the world's biggest can maker said it was
considering a rights issue and trading has not improved since
the first quarter.
Brewer SABMiller <SAB.L> shed 0.7 percent as RBS cut its
rating to "sell" from "neutral" in a cautious review of European
beverages. Drinks peer Diageo <DGE.L> fell 0.9 percent also
reflecting a switch out of defensive issues.
Tobacco stocks suffered a similar fate, with British
American Tobacco <BATS.L> and Imperial Tobacco <IMT.L> losing
0.2 and 1.7 percent, respectively.
Food retailers were also weak, with Tesco <TSCO.L>,
J.Sainsbury <SBRY.L>, and Wm. Morrison Supermarkets <MRW.L> down
0.7 to 1.4 percent.
Sainsbury started selling non-food products on the Internet
on Sunday as part of its growth strategy centred on expanding
beyond its core grocery offering. []
Britain's economy will grow just 0.5 percent next year and
1.5 percent in 2011, meaning it will take far longer to recover
than in previous recessions, business firm Deloitte said in its
latest quarterly review. []
Meanwhile, house prices in England and Wales were flat for a
third consecutive month in July, causing the year-on-year
decline to slow to 7.7 percent from 8.7 percent, property data
company Hometrack said, warnings that a recovery in house prices
could be a long way off. []
June U.S. new home sales numbers will be a focus later, with
the consensus forecast for a rise of 0.36 million, up from 0.342
million in May.
(Editing by Mike Nesbit)
