Britain's FTSE at fresh 9-mth highs, aims for 6,000

* FTSE 100 index up 0.5 pct, hits 9-month highs * Traders set sights on 6,000 by year-end * Banks relieved by UBS fine, cheered by CS upgrade By Toni Vorobyova LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Britain's blue chip share indexscaled fresh nine-month highs on Wednesday, putting it withinreach of the psychologically important 6,000 mark in the finaldays of the year and bolstered by growing expectations of abudget deal in the United States. U.S. politicians look to be closing in on an agreement toavoid the 'fiscal cliff' of some $600 billion of tax hikes andspending cuts that threaten to depress the world's biggesteconomy next year. The House of Representatives is expected tovote on the latest plan by Thursday. A deal would potentially pave the way for a year-end stockrally as investors seek a last-minute boost to their annualreturns - which could see Britain's FTSE 100 reach 6,000 pointsfor the first time since July 2011. A bigger than expected pick-up in German business morale,coupled with a recent run of stronger economic data from Chinaalso helped support sentiment on UK-listed globally focusedcompanies. "End of year window dressing is in full swing," said SteveAsfour, head of sales trading at Fox Davies Capital. "There have been some positive bits and pieces out of Chinaand out of Germany, so if we get some positive momentum out ofthe United States, then we could get to 6,000 and even push to6,100. I do think we will close the year above 6,000." The UK benchmark was up 32.07 points, or 0.5 percent, at5,967.97 by 1143 GMT, closing in on its 2012 peak of 5,989.07points, set in March. That level is likely to set toughtechnical resistance ahead of the key 6,000 mark. Banks were the biggest gainers, up 1.8 percent,on some relief following an as-expected fine for Swiss peer UBS over rigging Libor interbank rates - a scandal whichhas also embroiled most of the big UK names. Banks also got a boost from a sector upgrade by CreditSuisse, which lifted European banks to 'benchmark' from'underweight', with a preference for UK names. "The UK looks particularly appealing because we see somesigns of relative resilience in UK GDP growth and, above all,there is better coordination between the central bank and theTreasury than in any other country," Credit Suisse said in itsGlobal Equity Strategy 2013 outlook. "Our focus would be on Lloyds: we are fundamentally bullishon retail banks and there are clear signs that household lendingintentions and house prices are stabilising." Lloyds was the top FTSE gainer, rising 3.3 percent. Packaging firm Bunzl, on the other hand, ledlosers, its shares dropping 4.4 percent after an update on its2012 revenue outlook pointed to a relatively soft performance inthe final months. Bunzl supplies supermarkets, hospitals and hotels withproducts ranging from carrier bags to toilet rolls. "The full-year number implies a fourth quarter that issomewhere around zero to minus 1 percent. When you think thattheir product is relatively resilient ... it is disappointing,"said Will Kirkness, analyst at Jefferies, who rates the stock'underperform'. (Editing by Susan Fenton)