* FTSE 100 ends four-day winning run
* Bank of England, ECB hold rates at record lows
* Miners, oils shed gains, commodities weaken
* Schroders up; Aviva, Amec down after results
By David Brett
LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell
0.1 percent on Thursday, halting four straight days of gains,
with miners leading the fallers as copper prices weakened,
though investment company Schroders <SDR.L> gained after
results.
The FTSE 100 <> closed 6.05 points lower at 5,527.16,
having risen 4.7 percent over the last five sessions.
"It's a case of the market running out of steam in the
short-term given the rally we have had, and unless something
remarkable happens on Wall Street, we could see the market end
easier on Friday," said Rupert Armitage, director at Shore
Capital Stockbrokers.
Miners dropped as metal prices weakened, with copper <MCU3>
down as investors fretted demand was cooling in China while the
dollar strengthened.
Fresnillo <FRES.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L>,
Lonmin <LMI.L> and BHP Billiton <BLT.L> fell between 1 percent
and 3.2 percent.
Energy stocks were lower after recent strength and as crude
<CLc1> fell 1 percent to $80 a barrel. Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L> and BG Group <BG.L> shed 0.4 and 1.2 percent
respectively.
There was no surprise when the Bank of England announced it
was keeping interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent and
made no increase to its unprecedented scheme of pumping money
into an economy struggling to get back on its feet.
[]
The European Central Bank kept its main interest rate on
hold at a record low of 1.0 percent for the tenth month running
and said it was unwinding more of the extraordinary help it gave
the eurozone economy during the global crisis.
[]&[]
AMEC FALLS
Amec <AMEC.L> topped the blue chip fallers, down 6.7
percent, although the oil services and engineering group posted
a 13-percent rise in full-year EBITA, with Deutsche Bank
highlighting a relatively weak topline outlook.
Peer Petrofac <PFC.L> shed 0.8 percent after the firm and
Sweden's Lundin Petroleum <LUPE.ST> said they would spin off
their North Sea oil assets into a new venture to be floated on
the London Stock Exchange.
Evolution cut its rating for Petrofac to "neutral" from
"buy" following the news.
Insurer Aviva <AV.L> fell 2.6 percent although it posted a
better than expected 3 percent increase in 2009 profit, with
brokers highlighting a weaker book value and the firm's large
pension deficit.
On the upside, Schroders <SDR.L> was the top blue chip
gainer, up 6 percent as the investment company reported an 11
percent rise in full-year pretax profit driven by rising assets
under management and higher net inflows from clients.
Defensive issues were the main support for the index, with
drugmakers AstraZeneca <AZN.L> and GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> up
0.6 percent and 0.4 percent respectively, while British American
Tobacco <BATS.L> gained 0.9 percent.
Banks extended their recent gains. Barclays <BARC.L>, Lloyds
Banking Group <LLOY.L> and Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> added
1-3.8 percent.
There was mixed data in the U.S. ahead of eagerly
anticipated U.S. non-farm payrolls on Friday.
The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for
unemployment benefits fell last week, while productivity was
stronger than initially thought in the fourth quarter, boosting
hopes for the economic recovery. []
However, contracts for pending sales of previously owned
homes unexpectedly fell 7.6 percent in January, due to
abnormally severe weather.
(Editing by Rupert Winchester)
