Stronger energy stocks help FTSE bounce back

* Blue-chip FTSE 100 rises 0.7 percent

* Energy stocks track higher oil prices

* Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS - news) says prefers Rio, Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news)

By Atul Prakash

LONDON, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 15 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index rose on Monday, rebounding after its biggest weekly fall in over three years, as energy stocks bounced back from multi-year lows to track the oil price higher.

Oil-related stocks were the top performers on the blue-chip FTSE 100 index after Brent crude climbed back from fresh 5-1/2-year lows hit earlier on Monday.

The FTSE index was up 0.7 percent at 6,346.50 points by 1051 GMT, after falling 6.6 percent last week. The index is down nearly 6 percent this year after surging 14 percent in 2013.

It has fallen 5.8 percent this month, hindered by its heavy weighting in oil stocks. While lower oil prices can support other sectors, there are signs a weakening global economy could hurt demand for oil at a time of already ample supply.

"The template is still in place: oversupply and dwindling demand mean that the pressure will still be on oil. However, there's a lot of pessimism over the oil price which has already been factored in to the equity market," Alastair McCaig, market analyst at IG (LSE: IGG.L - news) , said.

The UK oil and gas index climbed 1.8 percent after briefly slipping to a 4-1/2-year low earlier in the day. Energy companies BP, BG Group (LSE: BG.L - news) , Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW.L - news) and Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: R6C1.DE - news) , and oil and gas services firm Petrofac rose by between 1.2 and 5.2 percent.

However, analysts remained cautious on energy stocks.

"Whilst the commodity has rallied somewhat this morning, oil has found it notoriously difficult recently to hang onto any gains," Spreadex financial analyst Connor Campbell said.

"Whether they are lost today, or by the end of the week, this brief moment of positivity is no signifier of renewed health in the black stuff."

Miners were also in demand on expectations China, the world's top metals consumer, could move to shore up its economy. Any stimulus from China, along with tightening supply of some industrial metals, could help metals prices and mining stocks.

The UK mining index rose 0.7 percent, helped by a rise of 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent respectively in shares of global miners Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 - news) and BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) .

Credit Suisse, in a note, said it saw an extended period of low iron ore prices, but maintained its more constructive outlook for base and precious metals. It preferred miners such as Rio Tinto and Anglo American, as well as Stockholm-listed Boliden (Other OTC: BDNNF - news) . (Additional reporting by Alistair Smout and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Susan Fenton)