Britain's FTSE edges up as investors cheer Kingfisher results

* FTSE 100 up 0.1 pct

* Kingfisher (LSE: KGF.L - news) gains on profit rise

* Travel stocks recover after Brussels attacks

* William Hill (Other OTC: WIMHF - news) slump pulls bookmakers lower (ADVISORY- Reuters plans to replace intra-day European and UK stock market reports with a Live Markets blog on Eikon - see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets for site in development. See the bottom of the report for more details)

By Kit Rees and Alistair Smout

LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - UK shares advanced on Wednesday as Kingfisher, Europe's largest home improvement retailer, beat profit expectations and investors dipped back into the travel sector.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 6.37 points, or 0.1 percent at 6,198.50 points by the close. Trade was quiet, with volumes at just three-quarters of the 90-day average.

Kingfisher, which trades as B&Q and Screwfix in Britain and as Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, gained 5.9 percent on the back of a forecast-beating 0.3 percent rise in annual profit. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) had announced a strategy overhaul in January.

"There was some initial disdain for Kingfisher's turnaround plan but today's results confirm the company has gotten a head start over its rival Homebase," said Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets (LSE: CMCX.L - news) .

Sky Plc (LSE: BSY.L - news) also rose 2.4 percent after investment bank Exane BNP Paribas upgraded its rating on the stock to "outperform" from "neutral".

Investors bought back into travel stocks, which recovered after a sell-off in the previous session following deadly attacks in Brussels.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in cruise operator Carnival (LSE: CCL.L - news) , International Hotels Group, tour operator TUI (LSE: 0NLA.L - news) and airlines easyJet and IAG were all up between 0.7 percent and 1.9 percent.

Mid-cap Thomas Cook (Xetra: A0MR3W - news) , which was also pulled lower on Tuesday by news of a fall in bookings in the previous session, regained ground to trade up 2.9 percent.

"You have the usual bit of aggressive bargain-hunting coming through in these sectors, (they were) quite heavily sold down yesterday," IG (LSE: IGG.L - news) analyst Chris Beauchamp said.

Miners and oil & gas stocks fell, as metals and crude prices suffered from a rise in the dollar and concerns about a market oversupply.

Mid-cap William Hill slumped 11 percent, its biggest daily loss in 7-1/2 years, after issuing a profit warning for 2016.

Rival betting group Ladbrokes (LSE: LAD.L - news) fell 2.6 percent. ADVISORY- Reuters plans to replace intra-day European and UK stock market reports with a Live Markets blog on Eikon (see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets for site in development). In a real-time, multimedia format from 0600 London time through the 1630 closing bell, it will include the best of our market reporting, Stocks Buzz service, Eikon graphics, Reuters pictures, eye-catching research and market zeitgeist. Breaking news and dramatic market moves will continue to be alerted to all clients and we will continue to provide a short opening story and comprehensive closing reports.

If you have any thoughts, suggestions or feedback on this, please email mike.dolan@thomsonreuters.com.

Mike Dolan, Markets Editor EMEA. (Editing by Catherine Evans)