* FTSE down 0.4 pct
* Royal Dutch Shell results weigh on energy shares
* Aggreko boosted by BofA Merrill Lynch upgrade
By David Brett
LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell on
Thursday, with energy shares lower after results from Royal
Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> disappointed investors and dented sector
sentiment.
Royal Dutch Shell shed 2.8 percent, taking around 15 points
off London's blue chip index, after the firm posted
below-forecast fourth-quarter profit. []
Peer BG Group <BG.L>, which reports on Tuesday, fell 1.1
percent, while oil major BP <BP.L>, whose own results fell short
of expectations earlier in the week, was down 1.5 percent.
By 1145 GMT the FTSE 100 <> was down 25.15 points, or
0.4 percent, at 5,974.92, having closed 0.7 percent higher on
Wednesday.
The index added 2.3 percent over the previous two days as
concerns over the impact of political unrest in the Middle East
faded and investors' appetite for risk returned.
Results were a feature among individual stocks. Mobile phone
giant Vodafone <VOD.L> posted a rise in third-quarter revenues
failed to inspire investors. However, its shares fell 0.7
percent, with brokers saying it was fully valued.
BT Group <BT.L> gained 2.8 percent, after reporting a 7
percent increase in third-quarter core profits. []
Consumer goods giant Unilever <ULVR.L> climbed 1.4 percent
after beating forecasts with a rise in fourth-quarter sales.
"Company earnings still seem fairly decent, nothing too
shocking for the big names, and I don't think there's much to
worry them in the short-term," Will Hedden, a sales trader at IG
Index, said.
GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> rose 1.7 percent after results and
as it announced the resumption of a share buyback programme.
PMI PRESSURE
Equities also came under pressure after UK services PMI data
came in above expectations, raising the case for higher interest
rates, which boosted demand for sterling. []
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For more on interest rate expectations click:
http://r.reuters.com/feb87r
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"We're not expecting the Bank of England to raise interest
rates drastically so a lot of that is priced in to the equity
markets, we might see some quick movements in sterling but we
are expecting them to go up at some point," IG's Hedden said.
On the upside, Blue chip utility firms United Utilities
<UU.L> and Severn Trent <SVT.L> put on 2.6 percent and 1.1
percent respectively, along with peers Pennon <PNN.L> and
Northumbrian Water <NWG.L> after Evolution Securities lifts its
ratings for both the mid cap water companies.
Elsewhere, Aggreko <AGGK.L> gained 3.7 percent as BofA
Merrill Lynch upgraded its rating for the temporary power
supplier to "buy" from "neutral" citing valuation grounds.
Chip designer ARM Holdings <ARM.L> added 1.8 percent as
Investec made "significant" upgrades to its earnings forecasts
and ramped up its target price to 503 pence from 360 pence.
On the second line, Hansen Transmissions International
<HSNT.L> dropped more than 9 percent after UBS cut its rating to
"sell" from "neutral".
Wall Street futures pointed to a steady open for equity
market in the U.S., ahead of the latest U.S. weekly jobless
claims numbers due at 1330 GMT, providing another snapshot of
the employment picture ahead of Friday's key U.S. jobs report.
January's U.S. ISM non-manufacturing report, January revised
durable goods orders and December factory orders, are due at
1500 GMT.
(Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
