FTSE up 0.6 percent as results boost

By Michael Taylor

LONDON (Reuters) - The blue-chip index ended up 0.6 percent on Thursday boosted by a flurry of results, while rising U.S. crude and metal prices sent heavyweight commodity shares higher.

The FTSE 100 .FTSE gained 35.8 points to 6,251.8 but is still down more than 3 percent this year.

On a busy day for corporate earnings, BT (BT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) contributed most points to the index, climbing 5.4 percent after the telecoms operator posted a rise in fourth-quarter underlying core earnings, in line with forecasts, and said it expected to deliver continued growth next year.

Confectioner Cadbury (CBRY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) added 3.9 percent on the back of first-half sales growth and persistent merger talk.

The maker of Dairy Milk chocolate, Trident gum and Halls cough drops, which demerged its North American Dr Pepper Snapple Inc soft drinks business this month, said first-half growth in confectionery sales would beat its 4-6 percent target range.

SABMiller (SAB.L: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's biggest brewer, also tacked on 3.9 percent after beating forecasts with a 19 percent rise in annual earnings and said it expects to raise beer prices to offset soaring commodity costs.

On the downside, Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) slipped 2 percent. It said profits fell in the first quarter -- but did not say by how much -- after it took a 1 billion pound writedown on assets tarnished by the credit crunch. The bank also refused to rule out a rights issue.

HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Lloyds TSB (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Alliance & Leicester (ALLL.L: Quote, Profile, Research) lost between 0.4 and 1.4 percent. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research), trading ex-rights, edged up.