Flurry of strong earnings boosts Britain's FTSE

(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)

* FTSE 100 up 0.3 percent

* BT, RSA, Morrisons rise after good figures

* Centrica (LSE: CNA.L - news) drops on equity issue plan

* Rolls Royce (LSE: RR.L - news) , Inmarsat (Other OTC: IMASF - news) fall after results

By Alistair Smout

LONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index rose on Thursday as investors favoured telecom firm BT, insurer RSA and grocer WM Morrison after strong results.

BT rose 3.2 percent, the top individual gainer, after results that beat expectations, with the stock on course to post its best session in two months.

The telecom firm said it would spend 6 billion pounds ($8.7 billion) on rolling out superfast fibre and 4G mobile in the next three years following criticism from regulators who have demanded an improved service.

"It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) 's hoped this will help placate concerns aired by Ofcom," Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct, said in a note.

RSA rose 2.3 percent. Its operating profits for the quarter were strong and ahead of expectations, though net written premiums dipped.

Morrisons rose 2 percent after it reported a further improvement in quarterly sales. The supermarket had dropped 1.7 percent on Wednesday after poorly received figures from rival Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) and weak Kantar data.

"The group's 'back-to-basics' approach (is) finding favour with shoppers. The price war, though, goes on and the threat from discounters remains," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

The FTSE 100 was up 17.51 points, or 0.3 percent, at 6,129.53 by 0801 GMT, set to snap a three-session losing run that had brought it to a three-week low.

Centrica dropped 7.8 percent after Britain's largest energy supplier said it intended to raise funds through a placing for acquisitions and to cut debt.

Rolls Royce fell 5.7 percent after the engineer said results would be weighted towards the second half of the year, while reiterating its full-year outlook.

Satellite firm Inmarsat fell 4.8 percent after it cut its outlook after a weak first quarter.

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.

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Mike Dolan, Markets Editor EMEA. ($1 = 0.6903 pounds) (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by John Stonestreet)