UPDATE 2-London stocks end higher led by gains in energy, travel stocks; Tesco weighs

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* Most of Europe would be open for Britons by May 17 - EasyJet CEO

* Glencore rises after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS ) upgrades to "buy"

* Robert Walters gains on upbeat annual profit forecast

* FTSE 100 up 0.7%, FTSE 250 adds 0.4% (Updates to close)

By Devik Jain and Shashank Nayar

April 14 (Reuters) - British shares ended higher on Wednesday, helped by gains in heavyweight energy and travel stocks, while Tesco slipped to the bottom of the index after reporting a 20% drop in full-year pretax profit.

The blue-chip index .FTSE rose 0.7%, with BP BP.L and Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L providing upward momentum, while commodity trader Glencore Plc GLEN.L was the top gainer, up 5.4% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral". FTSE 100 is still far away from its March 2020 highs, so there is good potential upside left and investors seem to be quite optimistic on UK equities as we enter the earnings season,” said Michael Baker, an analyst at ETX Capital.

However, gains were capped by Britain's biggest retailer Tesco TSCO.L , which tumbled 2% to the bottom of the FTSE 100, as the cost of adapting the business for the pandemic wiped out its "exceptionally strong" sales. blue-chip FTSE 100 has risen 7.4% this year as investors bet on a faster pace of economic recovery as businesses reopen, further aided by vaccine rollouts and government stimulus. However, a recent surge in global COVID-19 cases and concerns of higher inflation have limited gains.

The mid-cap index .FTMC gained 0.4% with low-cost air carrier Easyjet EZJ.L giving the biggest boost, up 5.8%.

The wider travel sector .FTNMX405010 gained 1.5% on hopes that the great British getaway would be possible this summer, with easyJet predicting that most of Europe would be open for travel and British Airways confident on routes to the United States, despite ongoing uncertainty. AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L rose 1.5% after China's health regulator approved Tagrisso, its lung cancer treatment, as an adjuvant treatment for patients with early-stage lung cancer. other stocks, Robert Walters shares RWA.L jumped 6.3% after the recruiting company forecast upbeat annual profit. Group BRBY.L added 1.2% as its French rival LVMH's LVMH.PA first-quarter sales bounced back far more quickly than expected.