* FTSE 100 rises, index back near record highs
* Utility stocks boosted after Citigroup tips sector
* WPP falls after disappointing Q1 sales
* Sainsbury to cut more jobs but shares rise (Recasts, adds latest prices)
By Francesco Canepa and Lionel Laurent
LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - Britain's top equity indexpushed higher on Thursday, boosted by a bump-up for utilitiesstocks just two weeks ahead of the UK's general election.
United Utilities rose 1.8 percent, SSE advanced 1.1 percent and National Grid rose 0.6 percent afterinvestment bank Citigroup said the sector would be favoured as aprotection against any market volatility caused by the election.
Utility stocks are often preferred in times of market uneasedue to their stable profits and relatively high dividend yields.
Even though uncertainty over next month's vote has hitsterling on currency markets, Britain's benchmark FTSE100 index has been relatively steady.
The FTSE was up 0.3 percent at 7,047.14 points going intothe close of the trading session, near a record high of 7,119.35points reached on April 16.
While no single party is expected to win an outrightmajority on May 7, the UK stock market has shown few signs ofedginess as some investors choose to stay steady rather thancash out on a market still trading near record highs.
Opinion polls put the right-wing Conservatives neck-and-neckwith the opposition left-wing Labour party, while the ScottishNational Party (SNP) could emerge as the third-biggest party.
A further risk also stems from the Conservatives promising areferendum on Britain's membership of the European Union by theend of 2017, if they win.
"The Conservatives are so driven by this European vote, it'sa red line for them. It's possible that a weak Labour coalitionmay be marginally better for the stock market, although Isuspect it won't matter one way or another as long as it doesn'tinclude the SNP," said Ewen Cameron Watt, global chiefinvestment strategist at BlackRock Investment Institute.
SAINSBURY RISES
Shares in sportswear retailer Sports Direct andelectrical goods group Dixons Carphone weakened after anunexpected fall in UK retail sales data.
WPP, the world's biggest advertising company, also fellafter posting a slowdown in first-quarter like-for-like netsales, which traders said were more sluggish than anticipated.
However, supermarket chain Sainsbury rose afterdeciding to axe 800 store jobs in a drive to cut costs.
Mining stocks such as Antofagasta and AngloAmerican also performed well. Antofagasta was helped byits plan to sell off a business for $965 million while AngloAmerican benefited from higher iron ore output at its Kumbaunit. (Additional reporting by Alasdair Pal and Alistair Smout;Editing by Gareth Evans, Crispian Balmer and Susan Thomas)