* FTSE falls 1.1 pct; U.S. recovery concerns weigh
* Miners, oil ebb as commodities soften on demand worries
* Banks lower as Standard Chartered reports results
By David Brett
LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares were down
sharply by midday on Wednesday as a deluge of corporate results
from London's blue chips failed to counter investors' concerns
about the sustainability of economic recovery in the United
States.
By 1041 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was 60.70 points, or 1.1
percent, lower at 5,335.78, having closed flat at 5,396.48 in
the previous session.
"This (fall) is a very short-term issue relating to the loss
of recovery momentum," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist and
head of research at Brewin Dolphin Securities.
"The big question mark is over where this (concerns about
the U.S. economy) is going to lead -- is this just another stage
of the cycle or is this going to head into a double dip?"
Energy and mining stocks were the biggest fallers on
London's blue chip index as downbeat data from the United States
sapped appetite for risk and hit demand for commodities.
Oil majors BG Group <BG.L> and BP <BP.L> were down 1.3 and
1.4 percent, respectively, along with crude <CLc1>, while peer
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> lost 1.6 percent, also after a power
trip disrupted operations at its new 800,000 tonne-per-year
ethylene cracker on Singapore's Bukom island.
Miners Antofagasta <ANTO.L>, which reported second-quarter
output figures, and Anglo American <AAL.L> were among the worst
performers in the sector off 3.4 and 2.0 percent, respectively.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. pending home sales slid to a
record low in June, while consumer spending and personal incomes
were flat.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open for Wall
Street on Wednesday, as investors awaited the ADP Employment
figures for July, due at 1215 GMT to gauge the health of the
U.S. labour market ahead of non-farm payroll numbers on Friday.
STANDARD RESULTS
Banks were led lower by Standard Chartered <STAN.L>, which
fell 6.9 percent despite beating expectations with its
first-half earnings. Analysts said the beat was mainly due to
lower bad debts and further upside could be limited due to its
premium rating already. []
RBS cut its rating on Standard Chartered to "hold" from
"buy".
Barclays <BARC.L> was down 2.0 percent ahead of results on
Thursday, and HSBC <HSBA.L> shed 1.4 percent.
Bucking the trend, Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> added 1.8
percent 1.1 percent after it returned to profit in the first
half of 2010, prompting Shore Capital to upgrade the stock to
"buy" from "hold".
Insurer Legal & General <LGEN.L> fell 2.3 percent as
Citigroup pointed to slowing growth, following the insurer's
first-half results, and reiterated its "sell" stance.
[]
Retailers were on the back foot after two of Britain's
biggest retailers reported a cooling in consumer demand on
Wednesday, raising fears that higher taxes and spending cuts
aimed at reining in government borrowing could derail economic
recovery.
Britain's No.2 fashion retailer Next <NXT.L> was down 7.6
percent, topping the FTSE fallers list, after the company said
a fall in first-half underlying sales would deepen in the second
half and warned shoppers also faced a hike in clothes prices
next year. []
Mid cap Carpetright <CATVU.L>, Britain's biggest floor
coverings chain, shed 2.0 percent after it also reported a drop
in underlying sales and said it was planning for spending to
stay subdued for the rest of 2010.
Retailers Marks and Spencer <MKS.L>, Home Retail <HOME.L>
and Kingfisher <KGF.L> dropped 3.0 to 3.8 percent.
Meanwhile, British Land <BLND.L> shed 2.9 percent as it
reported slowing growth in first quarter net asset value, amid
fresh worry for the economy and fears that banks could choke a
property market revival with tough lending restrictions.
On the upside, drugmaker Shire <SHP.L> rose 2.2 percent
after reporting a rise in second quarter earnings.
(Editing by Karen Foster)
