Miners, banks push FTSE to close higher

By Tricia Wright

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index shrugged off a shock fall in UK GDP to close higher on Friday, buoyed by miners and banking stocks, and supported by robust earnings and economic news from the U.S.

The FTSE 100 closed up 35.21 points, or 0.7 percent at 5,242.57, having touched a 13-month high of 5,299.57 earlier in the session. It ended 1 percent lower on Thursday.

"We had the rather disappointing GDP figures come in, but I think traders are taking it that the figures give a better opportunity for the Bank of England to extend its QE programme," said Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Britain's economy contracted in the third quarter of this year, quashing hopes the downturn was ending and instead marking the longest recession on record.

But the UK's blue-chip index showed limited reaction, paring gains slightly before recovering quickly to levels seen before the data, though the pound fell sharply and European stocks lost ground.

Banks gained, with investor sentiment also helped as Microsoft Corp's results smashed Wall Street expectations, and as sales of previously owned U.S. homes surged to their highest level in over two years in September.

Heavyweight HSBC rose 1.2 percent, while Standard Chartered , Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland added 0.7 to 3.5 percent.

LLOYDS CRUNCH