Last checked at 
(ADVISORY- Follow European and UK stock markets in real time onthe Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon, see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets)
* FTSE 100 up 0.5 pct
* Miners rally as commodities prices firm
* Airlines weak
* Bovis Homes issues profit warning
By Kit Rees
LONDON, Dec 28 (Reuters) - UK shares gained on Wednesday,helped by a rally among mining firms which tracked commoditiesprices higher, though volumes remained thin in the final tradingdays of the year.
The blue chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.5 percent at7,100.55 points by 1211 GMT, reaching its highest level sinceOctober.
Mining stocks were the biggest gainers, up 3.5percent and helped by a firmer oil price and a rally in copper,with which mining shares tend to be closely correlated.
BHP Billiton, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto,Anglo American and Glencore were all up between3.4 to 4.3 percent.
The British mining sector has rallied more than 100 percentin 2016, but has pulled back slightly after reaching a year-highearlier in December.
"Some of the other metals are actually showing negative forthe day, but the fact that they look to have bottomed out in therun-in to Christmas and have held firm perhaps yesterday as wellis a positive," Mike van Dulken, head of research at AccendoMarkets, said.
"We were in a downtrend that started end of November, so ifwe can call the end to that, that will be good for (theminers)."
Among the top fallers, airlines International ConsolidatedAirlines and easyJet lagged, down 2.3 percentand 1.5 percent respectively, on worries sparked by news thatFrench peer Airbus postponed deliveries of 12 A380planes to Emirates Airline.
While the midcap FTSE 250 index also outperformed,also 0.5 percent higher, a 4.8 percent fall in Bovis Homes pulled down shares in property stocks after thehousebuilder issued a profit warning.
Sector peers Crest Nicholson and Berkeley Group dropped 2.5 percent and 1.3 percent respectively. (Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
