Britain's FTSE advances as Smiths Group surges

* FTSE 100 up 1.7 pct

* Smiths Group (Other OTC: SMGKF - news) soars on positive results

* Supermarkets rally, Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) 's sales rise

* easyJet falls after Paris attacks, profit-taking

By Kit Rees

LONDON Nov 17 (Reuters) - A surge in engineering conglomerate Smiths Group and a recovery European markets from last week's deadly militant attacks in Paris led UK shares higher on Tuesday.

Smiths Group rose 10.2 percent, topping the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, and was on track for its biggest daily gain in seven years after reporting robust first-quarter results and a change in its pension plan funding that should bolster its cash flow.

The FTSE 100 index was up 1.7 percent at 6,253.50 points in early session trading, broadly in line with other European indexes, which recovered ground lost in the wake of Friday's attacks in Paris that killed more than 120 people.

"I think it's a case (of) rising tides allowing all boats to float this morning," Brenda Kelly, head analyst at London Capital Group, said.

UK grocer Sainsbury gained 3.1 percent after industry data by Kantar Worldpanel showed that the supermarket's sales rose by 1.5 percent in the third quarter.

Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) was also among the top gainers, rising 4 percent broker Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) upgraded the stock to a "buy" rating.

"The backdrop for the UK grocery market remains challenging but we think Tesco has the scope to be more competitive, rebuild its profitability and repair its balance sheet," analysts at Citigroup wrote in a note.

Budget airline operator easyJet fell 3.6 percent despite reporting an 18 percent jump in annual profit and ordering 36 additional A320 aircraft.

Analysts said they had expected some profit-taking as easyJet shares have performed well over the course of the year, and lingering fears over a potential reduction in tourists travelling following the attacks in Paris also weighed on the stock.

Other tourism stocks were recovering following an intial sell-off on Monday, with Carnival (LSE: CCL.L - news) up 1.7 percent, TUI gaining 1.5 percent, Intercontinental Hotels Group advancing 0.8 percent and International Consolidated Airlines Group up 1.6 percent. (Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)