Gains from miners and energy stocks, powered by firmer commodity prices, outweighed sharp losses from banks to leave Britain's top share index up 0.3 percent by midday on Monday. By 1207 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 17.58 points, or 0.3 percent to 5,372.10 points, having hit a five-week high earlier of 5,420.83. The blue chip index closed 76.30 points, or 1.5 percent higher on Friday. Energy stocks contributed the most points, supported by crude's break above $80 per barrel. BG Group, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Tullow Oil and Cairn Energy added 1.3-1.6 percent. Miners also lifted the index as copper reached its highest level in more than five weeks after a massive earthquake in top producer Chile sparked supply worries. Rio Tinto, Xstrata, Lonmin, Anglo American, Kazakhmys and BHP Billiton added 1.4-3.1 percent. “The markets are up, though with no clear conviction about it,” said Jim Wood-Smith, head of research at Williams de Broe. “It's the first week of the month and investors are awaiting important macro data later in the week like US non farm payrolls.” Investors will also have a batch of U.S. data to digest in the afternoon, with January personal income and consumption numbers due at 1330 GMT, followed by the February ISM and January construction spending numbers at 1500 GMT. But most eyes will be focused on Friday's US jobs report. Banks, however, were the biggest drag on the index, turning negative after results from HSBC showed loan impairments outside the US were higher. Shares in HSBC fell 5 percent, while Standard Chartered, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group fell 1.7-4.4 percent. Britain's Prudential was top of list the blue-chip fallers down 13.5 percent after the insurer said it would buy AIG's Asian life insurance arm for $35.5 billion, in a deal set to make the insurer the undisputed leader in one of the world's fastest-growing financial services markets. The pound tumbled over 2 percent to below $1.48, pressured by the Prudential deal, and also as markets were jittery on uncertainty over the forthcoming election, with polls showing that the ruling Labour party may win another term in power. Aviva was weighed by the Prudential news, as takeover hopes for the insurer faded on news of mooted joint predator Prudential's Asia foray, traders said. Legal & General, also a long-perceived takeover target among the insurers, fell 4.7 percent. The main domestic focus this week will be on the latest Bank of England MPC meeting, although no changes are expected to British monetary policy when the BoE's decision is made public at midday on Thursday. British house prices were 0.4 percent higher than a year ago in February, marking the first annual rise since March 2008, a Hometrack survey released overnight showed on Monday. Britain's manufacturing sector expanded faster than expected in February, matching the previous month's 15-year high rate of growth and suggesting the economic recovery may be gathering pace, figures showed on Monday. British consumer and mortgage lending rose faster than expected in January, though mortgage approvals dipped due to tax changes and poor weather, Bank of England figures showed on Monday.
