FTSE up as battered banks, commodities rally

* FTSE 100 up 1.0 pct

* Battered banks and commodity stocks rebound

* Utilities weak on switching out of defensives

(For more the financial crisis, click on [nCRISIS])

By Jon Hopkins

LONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index was up 1 percent at midday on Thursday, recovering some of the previous session's hefty losses as battered banks and commodity stocks rebounded but staying well below earlier highs.

At 1113 GMT the FTSE 100 .FTSE was up 43.9 points at 4,410.6, below the morning peak of 4,512.5 having tumbled 5.2 percent on Wednesday to its lowest close in over four years.

The UK benchmark is still down 31 percent this year.  Continued...