* Banks weak, outcome of EU meeting eyed
* Vodafone gains on share buyback report
By David Brett
LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares were flat by
midday on Monday, with banks dragged down by euro zone debt
concerns as EU ministers met to discuss steps that might be
taken to prevent debt contagion.
By 1139 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was up 1.84 points at
5,747.16, having ended down 0.4 percent at 5,745.32 on Friday
after downbeat U.S. jobs data.
The FTSE had gained more than 4 percent across last
Wednesday and Thursday as investors grew more confident a debt
crisis in the euro zone could be averted.
However, sentiment soured on Monday after Moody's Investors
Service cut Hungary's credit rating on Monday, leaving banks
<.FTNMX8350> the weakest performers among London's blue chips.
[]
"The debt issue continues to rumble on and that uncertainty
is clipping investors' wings," Jimmy Yates, head of Equities at
CMC Markets, said.
"Hungary and Portugal are a concern but its whether it gets
to Spain, Europe's fourth biggest economy, and that could cause
the ECB some problems."
Euro zone finance ministers meeting on Monday will face
pressure to increase the size of a 750 billion euro ($1,006
billion) safety net for crisis-hit members in order to halt
contagion in the single currency bloc. []
British mid-cap bank note printer De La Rue Plc <DLAR.L>
jumped 18.4 percent after it received an offer approach from
French rival Oberthur Technologies [], a source
familiar with the matter said. []
Pub owner Punch Taverns PLC <PUB.L> rose 6.3 percent on Mail
on Sunday reports of bid interest from private equity group CVC.
VODFONE FRENCH SALE
Vodafone <VOD.L>, up 1.3 percent, added most points to the
FTSE 100 after a UK newspaper reported on Sunday the mobile
communications giant its close to selling its 44 percent stake
in mobile phone operator SFR to France's Vivendi <VIV.PA>,
paving the way for Vodafone to buy back 5 billion pounds in its
own shares in 2011. []
Mining <.FTNMX1770> and energy <.FTNMX0530> stocks were also
a support for the index.
Global miner Xstrata <XTA.L> rose 2.9 percent on newspaper
reports Glencore [], the world's biggest commodity trader
which holds a stake of nearly 35 percent in Xstrata, is
preparing for a 6.3 billion pound ($9.94 billion) London Stock
Exchange debut as early as April next year.
Platinum processor Johnson Matthey <JMAT.L> added 0.6
percent as Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating to "buy" from
"neutral".
But Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto <RIO.L> fell 0.3
percent after it made a $3.5 billion bid approach for
Africa-focused Riversdale Mining <RIV.AX>. []
Elsewhere, Rolls Royce <RR.L> rose 1.8 percent after BofA
Merrill Lynch raised its rating on the engine maker to "buy"
from "neutral" in an upbeat review of the civil aerospace
sector.
Cobham <COB.L>, however, fell 1.9 percent as BofA Merrill
Lynch cut its rating on the aerospace electronics group to
"neutral" from "buy", citing worries over defence contracts.
Tesco <TSCO.L> slipped 1.7 percent after UBS cut its rating
on the world's No.3 retailer to "neutral" from "buy".
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall
Street on Monday, trimming last week's strong gains, and ahead
of the November employment index due at 1500 GMT.
(Editing by Louise Heavens)
