Britain's FTSE fortified by gains at ITV and Carnival

* FTSE 100 set for 4th straight day of gaions

* Carnival (LSE: CCL.L - news) up as Royal Caribbean raises profit forecasts

* ITV (LSE: ITV.L - news) up after Liberty Global (NasdaqGS: LBTYA - news) increases stake

* InterContinental Hotels (Other OTC: ICHGF - news) falls - no Starwood merger talks

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - Britain's top equity index forged ahead on Friday, lifted by a rise in the shares of media group ITV and cruise ship company Carnival, which set the market up for a fourth straight day of gains.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.3 percent at 6,692.17 points going into the close of trading.

Carnival's shares jumped by 5.7 percent, after its rival Royal Caribbean increased its annual profit forecast.

ITV also climbed 3.5 percent after cable operator Liberty Global increased its stake to 9.9 percent, but said it still had no intention of taking over ITV.

Ryan Mitchell, senior investment manager at Logic Investments, said he was going 'long' by betting on the FTSE rising up to 6,900 points, although he cautioned that persistent concerns over Chinese economic growth remained a risk.

"The FTSE looks well supported due to some good earnings that have come out lately. I'd be looking to buy any dip in the market," he said.

China is the world's biggest metals consumer but a sharp sell-off in its stock market over the last few weeks has raised concerns over its economy.

This in turn has impacted mining stocks, with miners such as Antofagasta (Other OTC: ANFGF - news) and Glencore (Xetra: A1JAGV - news) missing out on the broader market rally on Friday, falling back as copper and metals prices dropped on worries about demand in China.

"With Chinese shares seeing their worst month in 6 years, it's hardly surprising that investors aren't keen to hold onto their commodity shares going into August," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell. (Editing by Ralph Boulton)