* Profit taking hits miners, banks and oils
* Public Sector debt, retail sales figures miss estimates
* Reckitt rises on report of Colgate interest
By David Brett
LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index was
down 0.6 percent mid-session on Thursday, dragged lower by
heavyweight commodity and banking stocks, which offset gains
made by defensive stocks as risk appetite waned.
At 1208 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was down 29.78 points at
5312.35, after closing 0.1 percent lower on Wednesday.
Miners were the biggest drag on the index as metal prices
eased and investors took profits. Eurasian Natural Resources
<ENRC.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L> and Vedanta Resources <VED.L>
fell 1.8 to 4.9 percent.
"It is time we had some sort of a correction. If you look at
what's happening in New York with the equity futures, which are
quite low, we can't really be that surprised that we're coming
down on a corresponding basis," said David Buik, senior partner
at BGC Partners.
Poor outlooks from software makers and a surprising drop in
home construction last month dented momentum in U.S. and Asian
markets overnight.
In the UK, the Office for National Statistics said the
public sector had a net cash requirement of 5.899 billion pounds
last month, nearly twice the expectations.
Separately, the ONS said British retail sales rose 0.4 in
October, slightly below forecasts of 0.5 percent.
"There's been a bit of a reality to check, but to be honest
I though it would have kicked in sooner ... We've reached
dizzying heights. It appears this market sees every dip as a
buying opportunity," said Philip Gillett, sales trader at IG
Index.
The banking sector was generally lower. Europe's largest
bank HSBC <HSBA.L> shed 0.9 percent. Barclays <BARC.L> and Royal
Bank of Scotland fell 1.1 and 0.1 percent, respectively.
Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> gained 0.7 percent after the
Daily Telegraph reported the bank had received state aid
approval from Europe for its planned restructuring.
Energy stocks also edged lower. Royal Dutch Shell <RDSA.L>,
Cairn Energy <CNE.L>, Tullow Oil <TLW.L> and BP <BP.L> were down
0.2 to 1.1 percent.
DEFENSIVES DOMINATE RISERS
As investors took a risk-adverse attitude, defensive stocks
benefited, preventing the FTSE falling further.
Tobaccos gained ground, with British American Tobacco
<BATS.L> and Imperial Tobacco <IMT.L> up 0.4 and 0.5 percent,
while utilities extended gains from the previous session with
National Grid <NG.L> 0.3 percent higher after its first-half
results.
World No. 2 brewer SABMiller Plc <SAB.L> rose 3.7 percent
after saying it expected a second-half boost from currency
movements and a fall in the cost of inputs such as barley after
price rises and cost cuts pushed up its first-half profits.
[]
British household cleaning goods group Reckitt Benckiser
<RB.L> added 3.1 percent on reports of a link-up with U.S. peer
Colgate Palmolive <CL.N>, but analysts were sceptical of an
immediate tie up between the two. []
Wm Morrison Supermarket <MRW.L> rose 1 percent after its
third-quarter update, rebounding from Wednesday's falls on the
departure of its CEO to Marks and Spencer <MKS.L>.
[]
Investors are waiting for weekly U.S. jobless claims data at
1330 GMT.
(Editing by Will Waterman)
