* FTSE 100 equals record 11th-day winning run
* Commodities buoyant; banking sector main drag
* Defensives weak; Rexam falls on likely fund-raising
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Buoyant energy stocks and miners helped Britain's top share index rise for a record-equalling 11th straight session, though gains were limited by falls on Wall Street after corporate earnings disappointed.
The FTSE 100 was up 9.52 points, or 0.2 percent at 4,586.13, hitting its highest closing level since Jan. 5.
The index has risen 11 percent over the past two weeks on reassuring U.S. corporate earnings results, and is up 32.5 percent since hitting a six-year trough in March.
This winning streak equals that seen between late December 2003 and early January 2004.
Trading, however, was lacklustre, with volume reaching just 73 percent of the average of the last 90 trading days.
U.S. stocks eased, as profit-taking and worrying outlooks from companies such as Aetna Inc overshadowed data that hinted the housing market was stabilising.
"As you move through the week things really do start to take off," said Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"There's a few UK company results tomorrow, and Thursday in particular there's a whole raft, so this week really is the UK's opportunity to make its contribution to what has been a fairly positive earnings season so far, certainly in the U.S."
BP is among those reporting results Tuesday, with AstraZeneca, BT Group and Rolls-Royce among those set to post results Thursday.
Energy stocks added the most points to the index, holding onto gains made earlier in the session when crude rose on brighter economic prospect, but latterly the price eased off.
BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Tullow Oil added between 1.1 and 1.6 percent.
Miners were higher, against a backdrop of firmer metals prices, with Antofagasta, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Eurasian Natural Resources and Kazakhmys up between 0.5 and 4.4 percent.
Platinum miner Lonmin stood out, up 4.7 percent as Goldman Sachs upped its rating to "neutral" from "sell".
Pearson was the top FTSE 100 gainer, up more than 12 percent after the publishing group said it was trading ahead of expectations which allowed it to stick to its full-year outlook.
Elsewhere within the media sector, BSkyB, Reed Elsevier, Thomson Reuters and WPP climbed between 0.5 and 2.5 percent.
BANKS, DEFENSIVES WEIGH
The banking sector was the main drag on the blue chips as heavyweight HSBC shed 0.8 percent, while Barclays lost 3.5 percent.
Lloyds Banking Group, however, gained nearly 7 percent as Nomura raised its rating to "buy" from "reduce" in a review of the UK banking sector. Royal Bank of Scotland gained 4.2 percent.
Defensive stocks were out of favour. Brewer SABMiller shed 0.3 percent as RBS cut its rating to "sell" from "neutral" in a cautious review of European beverages.
Diageo suffered a similar fate, off 0.4 percent, while tobacco stocks British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco lost 0.1 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
Food retailers were also weak, with Tesco, Sainsbury, and Wm. Morrison Supermarkets down 0.3-1.5 percent.
Rexam was the biggest blue chip faller, down 12.1 percent after the world's biggest can maker said it was considering a rights issue and trading has not improved since the first quarter.
Also on the downside, UK property shares fell on fears of further pressure on the credit-worthiness of real estate companies, after rating agency warned in a report that prospects for the European real estate sector remained glum.
Land Securities shed 3.8 percent, while Liberty International lost 3.1 percent. (Editing by Greg Mahlich)