Miners drag FTSE back, offsetting BG strength

                                
 * FTSE down 0.2 pct
                                
 * Miners wane after recent strength, China raises rates
                                
 * M&S buoyed by capture of Tesco's "rising star"
                                
 
                                
 By David Brett
                                
 LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares were lower on
Tuesday, as weakness in mining stocks offset gains in integrated
oils following results from BG Group <BG.L>.
                                
 By 1156 GMT the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> was down 12.49 points, or
0.2 percent, at 6,038.54, coming off its highest close since
Jan. 18 on Monday, after gains in four of the previous five
trading days.
                                
 Miners were the main drag on London's blue-chip index as
investors paused for breath on a sector that has gained more
than 7 percent in February, fuelled by rising commodity prices.
                                
 Xstrata's <XTA.L> shed 0.7 percent after full-year results.
[ID:nLDE7170JH], while Lonmin <LMI.L> was the top faller, down
3.3 percent.
                                
 China surprised the market by announcing a rise in interest
rates on Tuesday, its second in just over a month, intensifying
its fight against stubbornly high inflation. [ID:nLDE7170ZK]
                                
 "We do have to remember that Chinese rates are still in real
terms negative, and a slow monetary policy cycle will try and
counteract the risks (from high commodity and property prices)
we currently see," said Atif Latif, director of trading at
Guardian Stockbrokers.
                                
 
                                
 ENERGY BOOST
                                
 Energy stocks <.FTNMX0530> provided some support for the
FTSE, although that was mainly down to BG Group <BG.L>, which
gained 1 percent after it announced forecast-beating
fourth-quarter profit. [ID:nLDE70R0WP]
                                
 Mid cap British oil explorer Premier Oil <PMO.L>, however,
shed 7.7 percent as it said it would abandon a well at its key
Catcher field in the Central North Sea. [ID:nSGE71705Z]
                                
 Small-cap oil explorers Nautical Petroleum <NPE.L> and
Encore Oil <EO.L>, which each have a 15 percent interest in the
licence, fell more than 14 and 18 percent, respectively.
                                
 Elsewhere, high-street retailer Marks & Spencer <MKS.L> rose
2.7 percent after poaching Tesco's <TSCO.L> Laura Wade-Gery to
head its Internet business, a move described as a "real coup",
by Seymour Pierce.
                                
 "Wade-Gery was seen as a rising star at Tesco and
potentially a future candidate for CEO. So this is a real blow
for Tesco and will heighten the debate over whether cracks are
appearing in its UK business," Seymour Pierce said in a note.
                                
 Tesco fell 0.6 percent.
                                
 British retail sales bounced back in January, and house
prices fell at a slower pace, surveys showed, suggesting the
economy may have gathered some momentum following a shock
contraction late last year. [ID:nLDE71622R]
                                
 On the second line, Beazley <BEZG.L> topped the UK FTSE 250
<.FTMC> leader board, adding 4.4 percent after the Lloyd's of
London insurer announced a sharp rise in profits.
[ID:nLDE7161G8]
                                
 Cleaning products maker McBride <MCB.L> fell 7.2 percent
after warning a second wave of commodity price increases and a
deteriorating British grocery market would hit profits.