* FTSE 100 up 0.4 percent
* Official Bank Rate kept at 0.5 percent
* GKN top riser on bid talk - traders
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares rose on Thursday, led by auto and aerospace parts maker GKN on takeover rumours, as the Bank of England voted to keep official interest rates at a record low.
The Monetary Policy Committee kept the BoE's key interest rate at 0.5 percent, as expected, as worries about Britain's lacklustre recovery outweighed any concern about above-target inflation.
"We would not completely rule out the MPC restarting QE (quantitative easing) at some stage, especially if the recovery shows signs of petering out," said Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec.
"Our judgement is that there will be some indications of strengthening over the second half of the year as consumers adapt to higher taxes, and possibly, from a global perspective as and when the U.S. moves out of its soft patch."
The European Central Bank, meanwhile, was almost certain to raise interest rates, with its decision due at 1145 GMT, and will show no let-up in its insistence that governments solve Greece's debt crisis without triggering a default credit rating.
The FTSE 100 was up 24.56 points, or 0.4 percent, at 6,027.48 by 1116 GMT, having finally succumbed to profit taking on Wednesday after an eight-day rally to close down 0.4 percent.
GKN was the star blue-chip performer, up 3.5 percent at 245.8 pence in strong volume, with traders citing talk of bid interest for the company. Two traders cited Chinese automaker SAIC Motor Corp as a possible bidder with a price being touted at around 350 pence per share.
GKN was not available to comment.
Miners added most points to the index, bouncing back after falls on Wednesday when top consumer China said it would raise interest rates, as copper prices hit their highest in more than two months on supply disruptions in Chile and Indonesia.
Integrated oil stocks also advanced, led by a 1.2-percent
rise from Royal Dutch Shell
The mood was still slightly subdued among financials, with sentiment fragile in the wake of Moody's cutting Portugal's credit rating to junk status earlier in the week.
After three straight days of declines, banks , typically big holders of European government debt, put in a mixed showing.
Insurance consolidator Resolution fell 2.3 percent as Nomura cut its rating for the stock to "reduce", but Man Group firmed 3.2 percent after the market welcomed an upbeat trading statement from the hedge fund manager.
U.S. stock index futures
Anglo-French property investor Hammerson topped the list of FTSE 100 fallers, off 4.9 percent, as Canada's Cadillac Fairview, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, completed its placing of 85.6 million shares at 463 pence. (Additional reporting by David Brett; Editing by Dan Lalor)
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