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(Reuters) - A rise in major bank and airline stocks propped up Britain's benchmark equity index on Monday, while Tesco edged higher after the troubled supermarket group strengthened its board.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which had fallen to its lowest closing level in nearly a year last week, was up by 0.1 percent, or 5.87 points, at 6,533.78 points by the middle of the trading session.
Banks added the most points to the FTSE.
Global banks HSBC and Standard Chartered - which have a large exposure to Hong Kong - rose as civil unrest in Hong Kong eased, while Barclays analysts also forecast better times ahead for both banks.
Tesco, which is reeling from an accounting scandal that has hit its shares, rose by 2.1 percent as analysts welcomed its appointment of two non-executive directors to strengthen its boardroom.
"Non-executive directors rarely put pennies into the tills, but in this instance we welcome the joint appointments and hope that it represents the recommencement of more effective governance of Tesco," said Shore Capital analyst Clive Black.
AIRLINES OUTPERFORM
Airline stocks such as International Consolidated Airlines Group - which owns British Airways and Iberia - and easyJet also rose on the back of a fall in oil prices, the main cost burden for airlines.
EasyJet, which was up by 1 percent, was also buoyed by U.S. bank Citigroup's decision to raise its price target on the stock to 1,670 pence from 1,600 pence.
Strand Capital managing director Kyri Kangellaris said the FTSE, which is down 3 percent since the start of 2014, had the potential to rebound by around 300 points from now until the end of the year.
"We could have a shaky few weeks, but I think there is good upside from here," he said.
(Additional reporting by Francesco Canepa and Tricia Wright; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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