* FTSE falls a day after touching highest level for 2009
* Commodity stocks under pressure as metals, crude retreat
* Standard Chartered falls on $1.7 bln fundraising plan
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index dropped
in midday trade on Tuesday, after hitting a high for 2009 the
previous session, dragged lower by falling commodity stocks, and
with Standard Chartered weaker after announcing a fundraising.
By 1056 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 40.93 points, or 0.9 percent
lower, at 4,641.53, after ending at 4,682.46 on Monday, its
highest closing level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in
early October 2008.
The index also rose to an intraday high for 2009 of 4,710.23
on Monday, and has gained over 34 percent since hitting a
six-year trough in March.
"I think this is just daily volatility rather than anything
more fundamental than that," said Darren Winder, head of macro
and strategy research at Cazenove.
"Strategically I'd still be very positive about the outlook
for the market, because I do think that the profits picture is
improving and the recovery signs will continue to come through,
through the second half of the year," he added.
Mining stocks were the biggest drag on the blue-chip index,
as metals prices fell back after Monday's rally.
Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L> and Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> shed between 1.7 and 3.6 percent.
Xstrata <XTA.L> dropped 2.8 percent as the Anglo-Swiss miner
warned hopes of a quick recovery may be premature after
first-half profit dropped sharply, and as it rebuffed calls by
shareholders of proposed merger partner Anglo American <AAL.L>
to pay a premium.
Anglo American shares were 3.2 percent weaker.
It was a similar story with energy stocks, under pressure as
crude prices <CLc1> fell to below $71 per barrel, paring three
days of gains, as expectations of a rise in U.S. crude
inventories offset optimism from positive U.S. and Chinese
manufacturing data.
Oil majors BG Group <BG.L>, BP <BP.L> and Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L> dropped 0.6-1.3 percent.
Explorer Tullow Oil <TLW.L>, however, put on 1 percent after
striking oil in Uganda's Ngara-1 well. []
BANKS MIXED, INSURERS DOWN
It was a mixed picture among banking stocks. Standard
Chartered <STAN.L> fell 4.6 percent after the lender announced a
surprise 1 billion pounds equity fundraising, though it posted a
better-than-expected 10 percent increase in its first-half
profit. []
HSBC <HSBA.L> fell 1.6 percent as investors booked profits
after strong gains following results on Monday, but Barclays
<BARC.L> rose 2.2 percent to 329.2 pence as Deutsche Bank upped
its target to 400 pence from 369 following its results on
Monday.
Ahead of numbers later in the week, Royal Bank of Scotland
<RBS.L> added 0.9 percent, while Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L>
fell 2 percent.
Insurers were lower. Legal & General <LGEN.L> was the
heaviest blue-chip faller, down 6.7 percent, after it halved its
interim dividend to conserve cash while it posted a 12 percent
rise in first-half profits. []
Selected defensives were supported as risk appetite ebbed
and flowed. British American Tobacco <BATS.L> rose 1.4 percent
while Imperial Tobacco <IMT.L> added 1.8 percent.
On the economic front, a survey showed on Tuesday that the
rate of decline in Britain's construction sector eased to its
slowest in 16 months in July, as new orders fell at their
slowest rate in 17 months. []
Eyes now will be on this week's two-day Bank of England
Monetary Policy meeting, which is due to start on Wednesday.
Investors will also watch June U.S. personal income and
consumption data, a preferred inflationary measure for the
Federal Reserve, to be released at 1230 GMT, as well as June
U.S. pending home sales, due at 1400 GMT.
(Editing by Hans Peters)
