* Banks lend support; Greece debt plan boosts sentiment
* Miners weaker, retreating after Friday's sharp gains
* Home Retail top blue-chip riser on Asda bid talk
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index was
flat by midday on Monday as strength in banking stocks, buoyed
by the announcement of a giant rescue plan for debt-laden
Greece, was offset by a retreat from miners.
By 1112 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was down 1.32 points at
5,769.66, slipping back after hitting a fresh intra-day 21-month
high of 5,803.71 early in the session.
The UK blue-chip index is up 6.6 percent this year, after
gaining 22 percent in 2009.
"The news (about Greece) was very supportive and very
welcome, so maybe all the market is really saying is we've come
a long way and maybe we're going to pause for breath for a short
while," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
UK banks were in favour with sentiment lifted after the euro
zone and the IMF threw debt-laden Greece a lifeline over the
weekend by pledging at least 30 billion euros ($40 billion) in
aid, though Athens has yet to activate it. []
Barclays <BARC.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L> and Royal Bank of Scotland
<RBS.L> put on 0.1 to 1 percent.
Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L>, however, slipped 0.1 percent.
The bank is holding discreet talks with various stockbroking
firms, including Numis Securities, Evolution <EVG.L>, and
Execution Noble on setting up a joint venture which would cement
its presence in equity capital markets, The Sunday Times said.
Home Retail Group <HOME.L> was the standout blue-chip
gainer, up 5.2 percent after a Sunday newspaper said it might be
a bid target for Wal Mart-owned <WMT.N> grocer Asda.
Asda declined to comment on the Mail on Sunday report.
BROKER BOOST
Broker comment helped lift a number of FTSE 100 stocks.
Supermarket chain J Sainsbury <SBRY.L> was 2.9 percent higher
following a double-upgrade from BofA Merrill Lynch to "buy" from
"underperform".
Accountancy software firm Sage Group <SGE.L> rose 1.9
percent as Citigroup upped its rating to "buy" from "hold".
And power generator International Power <IPR.L> gained 0.7
percent as Barclays Capital started its coverage of the stock
with an "overweight" rating.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall
Street on Monday, with all eyes on aluminium major and Dow
component Alcoa <AA.N>, due to kick off the first-quarter
reporting season.
Miners were on the back foot, clipping some of Friday's
gains, with Antofagasta <ANTO.L> among the worst off, down 1
percent, pressured by a Citigroup downgrade to "hold" from
"buy".
Xstrata <XTA.L> fell 1.1 percent as investors latched onto
media reports that the miner would bid more than $3.7 billion
for Australia's Macarthur, the world's biggest exporter of a
cleaner-burning coal known as PCI. []
Eurasian Natural Resources <ENRC.L>, Randgold Resources
<RRS.L> and Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> shed 0.4 to 1.1 percent.
Chipmaker ARM Holdings <ARM.L> was the top blue-chip faller,
down 2.5 percent as Citigroup cut its recommendation to "sell"
from "hold" citing valuation grounds.
(Editing by Mike Nesbit)
