Oils, miners, banks lift FTSE 0.7 pct higher

* Oils gain as crude rises; BP upgraded by Goldman

* Miners up as metal prices recover

* Banks turn higher; HSBC rallies

By Jon Hopkins

LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index was 0.7 percent higher approaching midday on Friday, lifted out of some earlier doldrums by strength in oils, miners and banks, and after some upbeat European data.

At 1145 GMT, the FTSE 100 index .FTSE was 37.29 points higher at 5,254.90, after closing 102.65 points, or 1.9 percent, lower on Thursday.

"Business confidence numbers for Germany have climbed more than the market was expecting and this seems to be lifting the mood towards equities at the end of the week," said Anthony Grech, market strategist at IG Index.

The Munich-based Ifo think tank said its business climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms, rose to 94.7 from 93.9 in November. [ID:nBEB004418]

"With nothing of any note on the calendar for the rest of the day, markets may well just end up trading in a tight range, consolidating the morning's sharp moves," Grech said.

Oil majors provided the biggest lift for blue chips with the sector rallying in tandem with a firmer crude price CLc1 and helped by an upbeat sector review from Goldman Sachs.

BP (BP.L) gained 2.0 percent after Goldman hiked its rating for the oil major to "buy" from "neutral". BG Group (BG.L) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) added 1.3 and 2.2 percent respectively, with the broker raising target prices for the two.

Heavyweight miners also found support as metal prices recovered following Thursday's falls with recent dollar strength fading. Randgold Resources (RRS.L), Kazakhmys (KAZ.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L), Vedanta Resources (VED.L), BHP Billiton (BLT.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L) gained 1.5 to 3.0 percent.

Mobile telecoms heavyweight Vodafone (VOD.L) also lent the market its strength, up 1.4 percent after Nomura hiked its target price for the company in a review of European telcos.

BANKS MOVE UP

Banking issues were pulled into positive territory thanks to a rally by sector heavyweight HSBC (HSBA.L), up 1.1 percent, and with Standard Chartered (STAN.L) gaining, ahead 0.9 percent.

However, the rest of the sector remained mired in the red, extending Thursday's falls on the back of concerns over tough new Basel capital regulations. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L), Barclays (BARC.L) and Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) lost 1.0 to 2.2 percent.

Disposals that Lloyds agreed to as compensation for taking state aid were a "very fair deal" but it has no plans to sell the assets soon, its chief executive told the Financial Times. [ID:nLDE5BH008]

Life insurers were weak after a recent rally, led by Prudential (PRU.L), down 0.8 percent, while Old Mutual (OML.L),> and Standard Life (SL.L) shed 0.6 and 0.3 percent, respectively.

The Bank of England, however, said Britain's financial sector looked in better shape than it did six months ago, and it has urged banks to take advantage of current funding conditions to shore up balance sheets.

But British consumer confidence fell in December for a second consecutive month, the first time since July 2008 that confidence fell two months in a row, a survey by GfK NOP for the European Commission showed on Friday. [ID:nLDE5BG2F7]

Temporary power provider Aggreko (AGGK.L) was the top FTSE 250 .FTMC gainer, up 4.9 percent after hitting an all-time high following an upbeat trading statement and ahead of the stock's promotion to blue chip status with effect from Monday.

Aggreko will replace Rentokil Initial (RTO.L) which drops back to the FTSE 250 index. Rentokil shares added 0.4 percent, buoyed by recent positive broker comment. (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)