RTRS: FTSE up 4.8 pct midday, led by oils, miners, banks
* FTSE 100 up 4.8 percent
* Oils lead as crude rallies on OPEC cut hopes
* Miners gain; U.S. stimulus package boosts growth hopes
* Banks, insurers bounce back
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index .FTSE was up 4.8 percent at midday on Monday, led by strong gains in oils, miners and banks as hopes for a big U.S. economic stimulus package lifted sentiment in hard-hit sectors.
At 1154 GMT the FTSE 100 index was up 192.75 points at 4,242.12, albeit below an earlier peak of 4,300.95.
The UK blue chip index closed 2.7 percent lower on Friday, making a 5.6 percent decline on the week.
"This is a short term relief rally against a backdrop of relatively cheap valuations," said Henk Potts, strategist at Barclays Stockbrokers.
"Medium term we will need more information to sustain the rally, and overall the mood will remain nervous," Potts said.
U.S. futures pointed to further gains on Wall Street after a strong turnaround on Friday with disappointing jobs data countered by Barack Obama's pledge for a big economic stimulus package.
Miners rose, bolstered by recovering commodity prices on hopes Obama's stimulus package will boost growth and help haul the United States, and the rest of the world, out of recession.
Shares in Vedanta Resources (VED.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), BHP Billiton (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) took on between 5.5 and 12.2 percent.
Anglo American and Rio Tinto will this week announce they are slashing capital expenditure budgets for next year and delaying building new mines until demand for commodities recovers, the Financial Times reported.
Energy issues added the most points to the FTSE 100 index's gains as crude prices CLc1 recovered from a recent slide on further hopes that next week's scheduled OPEC meeting will bring production cuts from the oil cartel.
