FTSE rises for sixth session

By Dominic Lau

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index rose for the sixth session in a row on Tuesday, with mining stocks leading the way on firmer metal prices while drugmakers also gained after recent weakness.

Heavyweight miners contributed the most points to the FTSE 100 .FTSE as copper, nickel, aluminium and zinc prices rallied.

Xstrata (XTA.L) soared 13.4 percent, Vedanta Resources (VED.L) surged 11.3 percent, Rio Tinto (RIO.L) jumped 11.1 percent, Antofagasta (ANTO.L) climbed 7.9 percent and Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC.L) gained 11.2 percent.

The benchmark ended up 59.28 points, or 1.3 percent, at 4,638.92, after gaining 8.6 percent in the previous five sessions. The FTSE 100 fell 31 percent last year.

"We are trading at the highest we have been in the last 42 trading days," said Tom Hougaard, chief market strategist at City Index Markets.

"We are overdue for a good rally, and that rally could take us up to 5,000 again. But over the next couple of days it wouldn't surprise me to see the market come down a little bit to consolidate the gains."

Drugmakers caught up with the market rally following recent weakness. AstraZeneca (AZN.L), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) and Shire (SHP.L) put on between 2.2 and 3.5 percent.

Oil producers were weaker, with BP (BP.L) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) down 0.2 to 1 percent.