FTSE gains 1.4 percent by midday; miners rally

* Miners, energy firms draw strength from commodities rally

* Insurers in demand on takeover speculation

* 1700 GMT deadline looms for Kraft's Cadbury bid

By Harpreet Bhal

LONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A rally in miners and oil stocks lifted Britain's top shares 1.4 percent by midday on Monday, buoyed by rising commodity prices as risk appetite heightened on the back of the G20's pledge to keep stimulus in place.

At 1201 GMT, the FTSE 100 .FTSE was up 73.43 points at 5,216.15, extending gains from last week when the index posted its best weekly gain in a month.

Mining stocks dominated the blue-chip gainers list, with Kazakhmys (KAZ.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and Fresnillo (FRES.L) up 3.6 to 5.3 percent.

Metals prices rose and gold XAU= hit a fresh lifetime high while the dollar retreated, as investors took on more risky positions.

Analysts said stocks, especially financials, were bouyed by a pledge by the Group of 20 (G20) at the weekend to prepare strategies to end emergency support for their economies but to keep the aid flowing until a recovery was assured [ID:nL7204184].

"The monetary backdrop for stocks at the moment is quite good because we've got low rates probably into the first part of next year and maybe even longer than that," said Nick Serff, a strategist at City Index.

"For banking stocks, they (the G20 comments) mean they're going to keep supporting them and they're going to keep putting the funding into the system," he said.

Banks were also supported by optimism ahead of third-quarter trading statements from HSBC (HSBA.L) and Barclays (BARC.L), which were up 1 and 2.6 percent respectively. Within the sector, Lloyds Banking Group gained 0.9 percent while Royal Bank of Scotland was 5.1 percent higher.

Oil companies drew strength from a rise in crude prices CLc1 to above $78. BG Group (BG.L), BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Tullow Oil (TLW.L) added 1 to 3.3 percent.

INSURERS IN DEMAND