FTSE climbs 0.2 percent, pharma, energy firms advance

* FTSE climbs 0.2 pct

* Pharma, energy firms gain

* Anglo American pares losses on Chinalco bid rumour

* L&G falls on downgrade

By Harpreet Bhal

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index rose 0.2 percent by midday on Tuesday, lifted by energy firms and drugmakers, but gains on the index were limited as hopes of an imminent recovery from the ailing global economy faded.

By 1113 GMT, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> was up 10.09 points at 4,244.14, in a choppy session which saw the index swing between positive and negative territory in early trade.

The index ended at its lowest level since April 29 on Monday and has fallen 3.8 percent so far in June, reversing three months of consecutive monthly gains since an all-time low reached in March.

"Our hope is that towards the second half of the year conditions will show signs of partial improvements and this may help equities to track higher... but thereafter the clouds gather again," said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, analyst at Charles Stanley.

He added the market was concerned that the anticipated economic revival was not coming through, adding that there was a fear that the global economic cycle could be "W" shaped, where the recovery in the economy will be followed by another dip.

Oil and gas firms added the most points to the index, recovering from sharp falls in previous sessions as oil steadied near $67 per barrel. Royal Dutch Shell , BP and BG Group added between 0.1 and 1.2 percent.

Drugmakers GlaxoSmithKline , which announced a deal with UK biotech Chroma Therapeutics, rose 1.6 percent, while AstraZeneca added 0.9 percent. Shire climbed 2.1 percent.

LIFE INSURERS DRAG

Life insurers were one of the largest sector drags on the index, led by Legal & General which fell 3.2 percent after Societe Generale cut its rating on the stock to "sell" from "hold".

Aviva , Friends Provident , Old Mutual and Prudential lost between 0.3 and 1.1 percent.

Miner Anglo American pared losses after dealers cited market talk of interest from Aluminium Corp of China (Chinalco). A Chinalco spokesman in Shanghai said the company was unaware of the bid talk. [ID:nLN33142]

Anglo American, which was still down 1.4 percent, had earlier rejected a proposed merger with Xstrata , which gained 0.2 percent.

Other miners Eurasian Natural Resources , Rio Tinto , Kazakhmys added between 0.5 and 1.5 percent.

Among other FTSE 100 gainers, Thomson Reuters rose 6 percent, after the global information firm said it plans to delist from the London Stock Exchange.

Analysts said this would close the share price differential between the price in New York and London, where the shares were cheaper.

Within the sector, BSkyB gained 4.2 percent, while Pearson rose 3 percent.

In a positive sign for the UK housing market, figures from the British Bankers Association (BBA) showed a 15.8 percent rise in the number of mortgages approved for house purchases in May from a year earlier.

In the U.S., the National Association of Realtors (NAR) releases existing home sales for May at 1400 GMT, with economists polled by Reuters expecting a 4.81 million annualised unit total against 4.68 million annualised units in April.

Investors are likely to be watching out for comments on the progress of quantitative easing and signs of recovery in the market following the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting which begins on Tuesday. (Editing by Mike Nesbit)