** Rolls Royce enjoys brief stint at top of FTSE 100 & up at 4-mth highs, rallying with peers as defencesector falls into focus after BAE Systems reports FY
** One UK-based trader said sector rotation was at play
** While BAE up 19 pct over the past 12 mths, investors inRR have had a rough ride & shares still down 19 pct since aprofit warning this time last yr, blamed on declining US &European military budgets
** RR rises 2.2 pct & for BAE, profit-taking after resultsproves short-lived on Thurs as stock bounces back from 4.4 pctslide to trade near highs of the day
** One London-based analyst cites headlines relating toBAE's optimism over US military spend next yr as the catalystfor BAE's rally
** Of the stocks, Galvan's head of trading Ed Woolfitt sayshe would choose RR over BAE as underperformance narrows
** Smaller peer Meggitt up 1.3 pct (RM: tricia.wright1.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)


LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Britain, Italy and Japan awarded a £4.6 billion ($6.14 billion) contract to industry joint venture Edgewing to build the...


* Project would comprise 14 reactors across three sites


July 1 (Reuters) - The UK's blue-chip FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday, with healthcare and energy shares leading declines, as investors monitored the...