FTSE slides 2.2 pct, economy fears reignited

                                
 * BoE keeps rates flat, holds QE as forecast
                                
 * Oils fall; Royal Dutch Shell results weak, miners down
                                
 * U.S. data adds to jitters
                                
 * GSK, Vodafone, Autonomy buck trend after solid results
                                
 
                                
 By Simon Falush
                                
 LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Worries about the global economy
pushed Britain's top share index to its lowest close in three
months on Thursday as spiking risk aversion hammered banks and
miners while energy stocks fell on weaker commodity prices.
                                
 The FTSE 100 <.FTSE> ended 113.84 points or 2.2 percent
lower at 5,139.31, its lowest close since Nov. 5, having snapped
a three-session winning streak on Wednesday, shedding 0.6
percent.
                                
 Banks were the biggest drag on the index. Heavyweight HSBC
<HSBA.L>, Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, Barclays <BARC.L> and
Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> were 3.7 to 7.8 percent lower.
                                
 A widely predicted decision by the Bank of England to keep
rates flat at 0.5 percent and not to extend the 200 billion
pound ($317.5 billion) quantitative easing programme did nothing
to improve market sentiment.
                                
 The European Central Bank also kept rates on hold at a
record low of 1 percent, as expected, but lingering worries
about peripheral euro zone economies also helped depress
equities.
                                
 An already negative market fell further after new
applications for jobless insurance in the U.S. rose
unexpectedly, helping the dollar gain as us investors
repatriated money which put pressure on commodity prices.
                                
 "There is a renewed bout of risk aversion, there were
expectations that the number would trend lower," said Tim Rees,
fund manager at Insight Investment referring to the U.S. data.
                                
 "Although some company results were pretty good, the market
is finding reasons to be bearish," he said.
                                
 Vodafone <VOD.L> was the pick of among just five stocks in
positive ground, up 3.6 percent after the mobile phone operator
raise its outlook and posted third-quarter revenue ahead of
forecasts. [ID:nLDE6121F3]
                                
 Software company Autonomy <AUTN.L> was another strong
gainer, up 2.7 percent after it said it was confident about 2010
when posting rises in fourth-quarter earnings that met
forecasts. [ID:nLDE6120BY]
                                
 Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> turned positive, after
posting its fourth-quarter results which topped forecasts. It
ended 0.7 percent higher. [ID:nLDE6121B9]
                                
 
                                
 GRIM MOOD
                                
 But the overall mood of the market was deeply negative as
heavyweight commodity stocks fell sharply as metal and crude
<CLc1> prices slid with investors reappraising the demand
outlook.
                                
 Miners dropped as metal prices were knocked again as the
dollar strengthened. Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, Lonmin <LMI.L>, Rio
Tinto <RIO.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> and BHP Billiton <BLT.L> fell 4
to 6 percent.
                                
 Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> fell 2.1 percent after it posted
a 75 percent fall in fourth-quarter profit to $1.18 billion.
[ID:nLDE610168]
                                
 BP <BP.L> fell 1.6 percent and explorer Tullow Oil <TLW.L>
lost 1.9 percent.
                                
 Consumer goods group Unilever <ULVR.L> fell 3.5 percent
after it warned of increasing competition from its rivals trying
to attract cash-strapped shoppers, overshadowing a
forecast-beating rise in quarterly underlying sales.
[ID:nLDE61307I]
 (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)