* FTSE 100 falls 1.8 percent
* Energy, mining stocks knocked by falling commodity prices
* Financials rocked by economic woes, bailout uncertainty
* BT results, Reed Elsevier update temper decline
By Simon Falush
LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index
dipped 1.8 percent by midday on Thursday on mounting anxiety
about the global economy, but the fall was tempered by
stronger-than-expected results from BT Group <BT.L>.
By 1142 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was down 75.13 points to
4,106.89 after falling 1.5 percent on Wednesday.
The index touched its lowest in two weeks, and is down 6.3
percent this week and 36.4 percent this year.
European shares slid, following sharp falls in U.S. and
Asian markets amid uncertainty about the U.S. Treasury's banking
rescue plan and more signs of stress in the global economy.
"The change in emphasis of the Tarp plan is injecting
uncertainty and it's leading shares back towards the lows we
were at last month," said Rob Griffiths strategist at Cazenove.
Energy stocks took most points off the index as pessimism on
the global economy sent oil <CLc1> to a 22-month low of $55 a
barrel.
BP <BP.L> fell 5.3 percent, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> shed
3.6 percent while Cairn Energy <CNE.L> lost 4.9 percent.
Embattled miners were also on the back foot again as metals
prices slid to multi-year lows on worries about the demand
outlook.
Silver miner Fresnillo <FRES.L> fell 11.6 percent, while
Lonmin <LMI.L> fell 7.5 percent and Xstrata <XTA.L> lost 3.1
percent.
BHP Billiton fell 4.2 percent after it said it had scrapped
a study into developing an integrated nickel project in eastern
Indonesia. []
The UK mining index <.FTNMX1770> is down 15.2 percent this
month and 57 percent this year.
BT, REED CONTAIN LOSSES
The slide in the FTSE 100 was contained by
stronger-than-forecast results from BT Group and goods news from
Reed Elsevier.
BT gained 8.7 percent after it reported second-quarter
earnings just ahead of revised forecasts and said it was in the
process of cutting 10,000 jobs.
Reed Elsevier <REL.L> gained 6.5 percent after the
professional information provider said it was on track to meet
its full-year sales and earnings growth goals.
"The results this morning were reasonable, BT was not as bad
as feared... but I think the rally (in these stocks) is
untrustworthy and overall it still feels pretty murky," said
Paul Kavanagh, director at Stockbroker Killik & Co.
Financial stocks were also among the heaviest losers as
worries about the banking sector in the face of the credit
crisis continued to weigh.
Japan's Mizuho Financial Group <8411.T> said it plans to
raise fresh capital while Commonwealth Bank of Australia
<CBA.AX> warned it expected a big jump in bad loans.
Shares in lender Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> fell 8.4
percent while rival HBOS <HBOS.L> and Barclays <BARC.L> lost 8
and 5.8 percent respectively amid continued worries all three
face tough times ahead following Wednesday's gloomy quarterly
inflation report from the Bank of England.
"We're following on from yesterday's inflation numbers. They
are the three most UK-oriented banks in the market, that's what
they've got in common," an analyst said.
Other financial stocks also suffered with London Stock
Exchange <LSE.L> sinking 12.3 percent after it posted a 57
percent rise in operating profit but warned markets would remain
difficult.
ICAP <IAP.L> was the biggest blue-chip loser, falling 25.7
percent to its lowest in over four years after Morgan Stanley
cut its rating on the interdealer broker to "underweight" from
"equal weight".
For an interactive timeline on Britain's recession, please
click on
http://uk.reuters.com//news/globalcoverage/timelines/timeline?tx=20081111111155.xml&tn=British%20economy%20heads%20for%20recession%20
(Editing by David Cowell)
