* FTSE hits two-month intra-day low
* Oils weak; BP hit by oil spill impact
* Miners knocked by Australian tax
* Banks down on debt contagion fears; StanChart up
By Simon Falush
LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares were lower at
midday on Tuesday, pressured by weak miners following an
Australian tax on the sector, further falls by energy giant BP
<BP.L>, and weak banks on fresh euro zone debt contagion fears.
By 1114 GMT the FTSE 100 <> was down 60.14 points, or
1.1 percent at 5,493.15 The blue-chip index closed down 64.55
points on Friday at 5,553.29, a two-month closing low.
BP <BP.L> was down 4.3 percent, taking 18 points off the
index, as investors fretted over the cost of the company's
battle against the oil slick off the southern coast of the
United States.
Other energy companies were weaker, weighed down by a drop
in the crude price <CLc1>. BG Group <BG.L> and Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L> fell 3.6 percent and 1.9 percent respectively.
An already weaker index fell further in morning trade with
market speculation about more fallout from problems on euro zone
debt problems adding to the jitters.
Markets were unconvinced by the bailout of debt-laden
Greece, which was finally agreed at the weekend, and concerns
resurfaced of contagion to other euro zone peripheral countries.
Some analysts argued the pessimism would be shortlived.
"People are looking at the Greek situation and worried that
other countries might get affected," said Shanthi Nair, senior
equity strategist at Nomura International.
But looking at the fundamentals corporate results in Europe
and the U.S. are looking good, so I think people will return to
a focus on top-line growth."
Miners were among the top fallers after Australia imposed a
40 percent mining tax. Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, and BHP Billiton
<BLT.L>, which are also listed in Australia, fell 3.3 percent
and 4.6 percent respectively.
Among other weak miners, Xstrata <XTA.L>, Lonmin <LMI.L>,
Anglo American <AAL.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> and Vedanta Resources
<VED.L> shed 2.0-3.9 percent.
An interest rate rise in Australia, which raised its key
cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.5 percent, and concerns about
tighter monetary policy in China also weighed on commodity
stocks.
On Sunday, China's central bank said it would raise the
amount banks need to keep in reserves, the third such increase
this year in a campaign to absorb excess cash in the economy and
stem inflation. []
China's key stock index <> fell to a seven-month low on
Tuesday as investors reacted to the latest policy tightening by
the central bank following a market holiday on Monday.
BANK BLUES
Barclays <BARC.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, Lloyds Banking Group
<<LLOY.L> and Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> shed 0.4-4.0
percent.
But Standard Chartered <STAN.L> bucked the sector trend, up
0.3 percent after posting a record first-quarter profit and
income as strong wholesale banking and improving consumer
banking outweighed margin pressure from increased competition.
Gains from defensive pharmaceutical and tobacco stocks
provided underlying strength for the blue-chip index, with
AstraZeneca <AZN.L>, GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> and Shire <SHP.L>
up 1.1-1.4 percent, while British American Tobacco <BATS.L> was
2 percent higher.
Inmarsat <ISA.L> was the top FTSE 100 gainer, up 4.4
percent, with traders citing renewed speculation the satellite
communications company could be the target of takeover interest
as it reorganised its Stratos subsidiary.
(Editing by Dan Lalor)
