FTSE up as global equities regain ground after sell-off

By Ana Nicolaci da Costa

LONDON (Reuters) - The top share index rose on Wednesday as rebounding U.S. stocks and oil and gas producers provided some relief for a market which has recently been shaken by repeated bad news from the credit world.

The FTSE 100 index closed 0.49 percent, or 30 points higher, at 6,132.2 in thin volumes, having fallen nearly 2 percent in the previous session.

Oil and gas producers were among the best performers as oil prices surged. Royal Dutch Shell was up 0.8 percent, BG Group gained 1.4 percent and BP put on 0.1 percent.

Whitbread was the biggest gainer, up 3.5 percent as the owner of Premier Inns, Costa Coffee and Beefeater pubs reported stronger first half sales.

The rise came as the firm shelved plans for a 600 million pound bond to fund a cash return to investors due to the turbulent credit market.

But elsewhere trade was choppy and analysts were cautious about the outlook in the near-term given the most recent credit casualties.

"There's almost an expectation that they're going to get another few horror stories coming out so I don't think markets will be able to make much upward pressure until there's some more assistance from the central banks," said Chris Iggo, strategist at Axa Investment Managers.

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