FTSE rises near record high as banks and Vodafone advance

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index climbed back towards earlier record highs on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in major bank stocks and after bid speculation lifted the shares of mobile network operator Vodafone (VOD.L).

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) ended up 0.2 percent at 7,007.26 points, close to a record high of 7,122.74 points set in April. The index is up around 7 percent since the start of 2015.

Barclays (BARC.L) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) were among several major banks to plead guilty on Wednesday to trying to manipulate foreign exchange rates. Six banks were fined a total of nearly $6 billion in a settlement that substantially ends a global probe into misconduct in the $5-trillion-a-day market.

Barclays and RBS' shares both rose as traders expressed relief that the fine was now out of the way.

"The fine and settlement should mean they can now draw a line in the sand under this sorry affair," said Beaufort Securities' sales trader Basil Petrides.

Shares in Vodafone, which fell 3.2 percent on Tuesday, also advanced 5.4 percent after the chairman of Liberty Global (LBTYA.O), John Malone, said the two companies would make a "great fit", reigniting long-running merger speculation.

Vodafone's rise offset the negative impact on the FTSE from a 5 percent decline at Burberry, after Burberry cut its 2016 profit guidance.

Admiral Markets' Darren Sinden said the FTSE looked well set for the rest of the year, provided that any market pullbacks did not push it too far below the 7,000 point level.

"I would be cautiously buying any dips below 7,000," he said.

(Additional reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Ralph Boulton)