* FTSE 100 gains 0.1 percent
* REITs lifted by broadly positive JPMorgan note
* Retailers firm on Waitrose sales figures
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, April 15 (Reuters) - Strong retailers and property stocks helped Britain's top share index edge higher on Friday, offsetting falls from banks and miners, with investors cautiously optimistic about the strength of U.S. earnings.
By 0833 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 2.76 points, or 0.1 percent, at 5,966.56, recovering after hitting a two-week closing low on Thursday, off 0.8 percent at 5,963.80.
Traders said that while the U.S. earnings season has not got off to a very strong start, with revenue growth on the whole disappointing, rising profits have been welcomed by the market.
"I think people are positive that companies are making money, because they've got rid of all the excess fat, and it makes them more profitable longer term," Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital, said.
"I think people are optimistic, and I think the analysts got ahead of themselves (with their forecasts)," he said.
Real estate investment trusts were lifted by a broadly positive note on the sector from JPMorgan, which kept its "overweight" stance on Land Securities and British Land, up 1 and 1.4 percent respectively.
On the second tier, office landlord Derwent London gained 3.2 percent as the same broker raised its rating on the stock to "overweight" from "neutral".
Elsewhere among the gainers, retailers found favour after John Lewis's Waitrose reported soaring weekly sales, while sales at John Lewis's department stores increased 7.3 percent to 52.3 million pounds.
Next added 1.3 percent, while Kingfisher and Marks & Spencer both put on 0.7 percent.
BANKS WEIGH
Banks fell, with sentiment surrounding the sector soured as Moody's cut Ireland's sovereign rating by two notches to the verge of junk status and kept its outlook on negative.
"We're seeing continual pressure on banking stocks and it's dfficult for the market really to make any gains when the headlines are full of rising bond yields, downgrades to sovereign debt ratings, and the increasing likelihood of a default," Angus Campbell, head of sales at Capital Spreads, said.
Banks will remain under the spotlight on Friday, with Bank of America scheduled to report quarterly earnings.
Man Group rose 2.1 percent, bouncing back from the previous session's falls as BofA Merrill Lynch added the world's biggest listed hedge fund manager to its Europe One list.
Weakness was seen from the miners as turbo-charged first-quarter GDP growth and 32-month high inflation in China fuelled concern about further fiscal tightening from Beijing.
(Additional reporting by David Brett and Brenda Goh, Editing by Mark Potter)