* FTSE 100 index gains 0.3 percent ahead of U.S. jobs report
* Water firms boosted by BofA Merrill Lynch upgrades
* Cairn Energy drops on Cairn India offload concerns
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index held firm at midday on Friday, pulled higher by strength in risk-sensitive banks and miners as investors awaited the release of the latest U.S. employment report.
At 1201 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 19.34 points, or 0.3 percent, at 6,002.68, above the psychologically important 6,000 level, but below the session peak of 6,017.19.
"FTSE's pretty much gone back to sleep after initial gains, and not much will happen until the U.S. jobs data is out of the way (at 1330 GMT)," said David Morrison, market strategist at GFT Global.
The latest Reuters poll showed a median forecast of 145,000 jobs added in January after an increase of 103,000 jobs in December. It also predicted the jobless rate rising to 9.5 percent from 9.4 percent.
"If the payrolls come in below forecasts, people will probably blame the snow and won't take it too seriously, but if they beat expectations, people might worry that the Fed's asset purchase moves could be curtailed," Morrison added.
Banks added the most strength to the FTSE 100 index as investors positioned themselves ahead of the U.S. data, with Barclays the best performer, up 2.1 percent.
Miners rallied after recent falls as metal prices held steady, with Randgold Resources leading the field, up 2.2 percent ahead of its fourth-quarter results due on Monday.
Water companies Severn Trent and United Utilities were the top blue-chip gainers, up 4.2 and 3.5 percent, respectively, as BofA Merrill Lynch upgraded both firms to "buy" from "neutral" in a sector review.
Morrison Supermarkets added 2.7 percent after both UBS and Bernstein Research upgraded ratings for Britain's fourth-biggest grocer.
CAIRN CURTAILED
Oil explorer Cairn Energy was the top FTSE 100 faller, down 3.1 percent after an Indian media report raised concerns over the sale of a majority stake in its local unit, Cairn India, to Vedanta Resources.
"Even if the deal does not complete, then based on the oil price and NAV of Cairn Energy there is still upside from here," said Atif Latif, director of trading at Guardian Stockbrokers.
The integrated oil sector remained downbeat after results this week from Royal Dutch Shell and BP both undershot forecasts.
Shell shed 1.3 percent, with BofA Merrill Lynch downgrading its rating for the firm to "neutral" from "buy".
BP, however, gained 0.6 percent after a report that its estranged Russian partner shareholders in TNK-BP might get bought out by BP's new Arctic exploration partner Rosneft, although this was denied by the state-controlled Russian oil firm.
Travel-related firms continued to feel the pinch from the political unrest in Egypt.
TUI Travel lost 2 percent, also hit by a Nomura downgrade to "neutral" from "buy" in a leisure sector review. (Editing by Will Waterman)