Stronger Capita and easyJet lift Britain's FTSE 100
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* Capita (LSE: CPI.L - news) up after bullish outlook
* EasyJet (Other OTC: EJTTF - news) boosted by dividend pledge and outlook
LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - Britain's leading stock index rose on Tuesday, lifted by gains for shares in budget airline easyJet and support services group Capita.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.8 percent at 6,162.66 points in early trading.
The FTSE 100 has lost about 1 percent this year and is some 14 percent below a record high reached in April 2015, with concerns about a China-led global economic slowdown having hit world stock markets.
Traders expressed caution over the FTSE's near-term progress before a June 23 referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, although many still expect the "Yes" voters to prevail.
"I foresee the FTSE making a small recovery to 6,500 when the Brexit vote is finally put to bed and we stay with the EU," InterTrader chief market strategist, Steve Ruffley, said.
Capita rose 4 percent, making it the top FTSE 100 gainer, after the company expressed increasing confidence over its 2016 prospects.
EasyJet gained 2.8 percent.
Even (Taiwan OTC: 6436.TWO - news) though the airline reported a half-year loss, traders and analysts expressed reassurance over its asertion that it was on track to meet market expectations for full-year results, and were encouraged by its plans to boost its dividend payout ratio.
"The dividend payout ratio has been lifted from 40 percent of post-tax income to 50 percent, reflecting strong cash flows," Cantor Fitzgerald analysts wrote.
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Mike Dolan, Markets Editor EMEA. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Louise Ireland)