FTSE rises to 14-month high, Coca Cola HBC surges

By Sudip Kar-Gupta LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index rose on Thursday to post its sixth straight day of gains, with the market lifted to a 14-month high by energy companies and Coca Cola HBC . The blue-chip FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> closed up 0.7 percent to 6,914.71 points, its highest level since June 2015. Drinks bottler Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC) was the best-performing FTSE 100 stock, up 7 percent after reporting higher interim profits. Shares in oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell also climbed as oil prices edged higher. [O/R] "There's been a big turnaround in oil which has helped the likes of BP and the FTSE in general," said Central Markets' trading analyst Joseph Neighbour. However, Anglo-South African financial services firm Old Mutual fell 3.8 percent after posting a 9 percent fall in first-half operating profit. Housebuilders also fell after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said British housing market activity ebbed in the month following the country's shock 'Brexit' vote to leave the European Union. Shares in housebuilders Berkeley Group , Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments all lost ground. The FTSE 100 is up around 11 percent so far in 2016. Record low interest rates set by the Bank of England have helped the UK stock market recover from a slump in the immediate aftermath of June's Brexit vote, although the value of UK shares in U.S. dollar terms has been impacted by a fall in sterling. Gerren O'Neill, senior trader at Thames Capital Markets, expected the FTSE to settle back a bit from its current highs, but Central Markets' Neighbour backed sticking with the market, while being prepared to trim back positions for a profit. (Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Keith Weir)