* Miners, oils retrace Monday's gains
* Banks weaker; RBS rallies on China sale hopes
* Vodafone lifted by JP Morgan sector upgrade
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index <>
was down 0.4 percent mid-session on Tuesday as investors paused
for breath after markets hit 10-month highs on Monday, with
heavyweight miners, oils, and banks retracing recent gains.
By 1048 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> index was 20.00 points
lower at 4,876.23 after closing 45.34 points higher on Monday,
snapping a five-session winning streak.
"The FTSE has recovered some of the opening losses and seems
to be plotting a course for a return to the black. Without doubt
there's been a degree of consolidation taking place ... as
traders regroup ahead of a possible test on the key 5,000
level," said Anthony Grech, market strategist at IG Index.
Miners led the retreat, retracing some of Monday's gains as
copper prices <MCU3> weakened, reflecting further uncertainty
over recovery in China which saw Asian markets fall.
Chilean copper miner Antofagasta <ANTO.L> was the top blue
chip faller, down 3.5 percent ahead of first-half results due on
Wednesday, while Eurasian Natural Resources <ENRC.L>, Kazakhmys
<KAZ.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, and BHP Billiton
<BLT.L> all shed 2.0 to 3.5 percent.
BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, will cut up to 70
jobs at its Mt Keith nickel mine in Australia to ensure the
operation's viability, it said on Tuesday. []
Oil majors were weak as crude <CLc1> prices eased back to
$74 a barrel, with BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, BG
Group <BG.L>, and Tullow Oil <TLW.L> down 0.2 to 0.6 percent.
Cairn Energy <CNE.L> dropped 2.5 percent as the oil explorer
said its large Indian oilfields would begin producing oil this
week but warned in its half-yearly report that meeting targets
for the next stages of the development was becoming
"increasingly challenging". []
Most banks fell as well, with Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L>,
Barclays <BARC.L>, Standard Chartered <STAN.L>, and HSBC <HSA.L>
off 0.3 to 1.9 percent.
RBS ABOUT-TURN
Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> bucked the weak sector trend,
however, reversing earlier falls to add 3.0 percent and topping
the FTSE 100 gainers board.
Talks to sell some of RBS's Asian assets to Standard
Chartered remain "in full swing", sources familiar with the
matter said on Tuesday after a newspaper report said they were
on the rocks. []
Heavyweight Vodafone <VOD.L> was also a top blue chip riser,
gaining 2.4 percent as JP Morgan upgraded its strategy stance on
the European telecoms sector to "overweight", and advised
exposure to the British mobile telecoms stock.
The broker said the telecoms sector is favoured by cheap
valuations, increasingly stable and predictable results and
seasonal trading patterns that has led it to consistently
outperform in the final months of most years since 1995.
Vodafone also benefited from its perceived defensive
attraction, a factor which accounted for a number of other
blue-chip gainers as investors' recent risk appetite waned.
Multi-utilities United Utilities <UU.L>, Severn Trent
<SVT.L>, and Pennon Group <PNN.L> stood out, up 0.2 to 0.9
percent.
Food retailers Tesco <TSCO.L> and J Sainsbury <SBRY.L> took
on 0.2 and 0.8 percent, respectively, while general retailers
also found support, with Marks & Spencer <MKS.L> up 0.8 percent.
U.S. stocks <DJc1> <SPc1> <NDc1> were indicated modestly
higher on Tuesday after ending flat in the previous session,
with investors awaiting the S&P Case-Shiller U.S. home price
index for June, due at 1300 GMT, and the U.S August consumer
confidence report, to be released at 1400 GMT.
"Any bullish notes from New York will doubtless end up
resounding in London too," said IG Index's Grech.
(Editing by John Stonestreet)
