* FTSE 100 down 0.2 percent; banks biggest fallers
* BP higher as "great makeover begins"
* ICAP, Compass drop after trading updates
* U.S. GDP data eyed; due at 1230 GMT
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 share index
<> was lower by midday on Thursday, with a rise in BP
<BP.L> offset by bank stocks falling as investors continue to
worry about European government debt.
By 1126 GMT, the index was off 11.06 points, or 0.2 percent,
at 5,558.21, ending a strong month when it has risen 6.4
percent.
Banks <.FTNMX8350> took the most points off the index, down
1.1 percent and extending Wednesday's sharp losses.
Ireland's central bank has put a 34 billion-euro ($46.2
billion) price on bailing out Anglo Irish Bank [] under
a worst-case scenario and said Allied Irish Banks <ALBK.I> needs
to raise an additional 3 billion euros by the end of the year.
Moody's Investor Service cut Spain's credit ratings to Aa1
from AAA, with a stable outlook, saying it sees weak economic
growth prospects for the euro zone's fourth-biggest economy.
[]
"The Spanish downgrade, although expected, together with the
concerns over the banking situation in Ireland mean investors
remain wary," Mic Mills, head of electronic dealing at ETX
Capital, said.
ICAP PRESSURED
ICAP <IAP.L> shed 3.5 percent to top the blue-chip fallers'
list as the world's biggest interdealer broker said increased
interest costs were holding back earnings growth although it
expected higher first-half revenues. []
Compass Group <CPG.L> fell 2.9 percent after a
"disappointing" in-line trading statement, said trader Ben
Critchley at IG Index, although brokers remain generally
positive on the group's longer-term outlook. []
On the upside, Burberry <BRBY.L> climbed 0.9 percent after
Bernstein issued a broadly positive note on the luxury goods
sector. []
Upbeat broker sentiment also helped Smiths Group <SMIN.L>,
up 0.7 percent, with Morgan Stanley hiking its target price for
the technology group following full-year results on Wednesday.
BP <BP.L> advanced 1.7 percent as the group continued to
benefit from what Evolution Securities called the beginning of a
"great makeover" after a shake-up of top management was unveiled
on Wednesday. []
British house prices edged fractionally higher in September,
a survey by mortgage lender Nationwide showed, bucking
expectations for a third successive monthly decline.
And British consumer confidence weakened more than expected
in September as people's outlook on their own finances and the
economy as a whole darkened, a GfK/NOP survey showed.
Investors were waiting for the final reading for U.S. Q2
GDP, due at 1230 GMT, although no revision is expected to the
1.6 percent quarter-on-quarter provisional growth number.
Looking at the FTSE from a technical perspective, David
Morrison, market strategist at GFT Global said: "(It) is trying
to break above 5,625 at the moment ... this really ties in with
the resistance on the S&P <.SPX> which is at 1,150, and on the
Dow <> at 10,900."
"They're different percentage levels but they're all
significant levels of resistance -- you either see this as a
loss of momentum to the upside ... or you can see this as a
healthy consolidation and stocks now building a platform from
where they can push on higher," he said.
(Editing by Greg Mahlich)
