Britain's FTSE hits 6-week high, SABMiller rises on higher bid

* FTSE 100 gains 0.6 pct

* SAB rises but trades below Anheuser's offer price

* Miners rally, set longest winning streak since Feb. 2014

* Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) rises after smaller plunge than expected in profits

By Alistair Smout

LONDON, Oct (HKSE: 3366-OL.HK - news) 7 (Reuters) - Britain's top equity index rose to its highest level since August on Wednesday, buoyed by a rise in mining stocks, a higher bid for SABMiller (Xetra: BRW1.DE - news) and a bounce for Tesco after a smaller-than-expected plunge in profits.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.6 percent at 6,366.20 points going into the middle of the trading session, rising for its fifth straight session and hitting its highest level since Aug. 20.

The FTSE lost ground in the last quarter, due mainly to concerns about slower growth in China. The index remains some 10 percent below a record high of 7,122.74 points reached in April (LSE: 0N69.L - news) , but some traders were encouraged by its recent recovery.

"The FTSE has finally pushed its way through the 6,300 level for the first time since late August. This is more than a little bullish and tends to set the scene for a bigger move higher should the momentum carry," London Capital Group head analyst, Brenda Kelly, said.

SAB rose 1.9 percent after Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, increased its bid to 42.15 pounds per share in cash, valuing SAB at nearly 68 billion pounds.

However, SAB's shares remained below that price, indicating some nervousness over whether a deal would be sealed.

The FTSE was also supported by a rebound in the mining sector, which rose 5.5 percent following a rally in metals prices.

Morgan Stanley (Xetra: 885836 - news) strategists upgraded miners from "underweight" to "overweight", and shares in Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) surged by about 10 percent.

Tesco's first-half profits slumped 55 percent although Tesco said it was trading ahead of expectations and outperforming rivals. Its shares initially fell nearly 3 percent but then recovered to stand 1 percent higher.

"Tesco did not have a great set of numbers, but they were marginally better than expected. In the medium-term, it's still a strong business, but in the short-term they still have hurdles to overcome in terms of competition from cheaper rivals," Charles Hanover Investments partner, Dafydd Davies, said.

Airline stocks underperformed the market rally.

International Consolidated Airlines Group and easyJet both fell after Credit Suisse (LSE: 0QP5.L - news) cut the sector to "equalweight" from "overweight", saying a stabilisation in the oil price would affect the sector. (Additional reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Louise Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) )