* FTSE 100 down 0.1 pct
* ICAP top faller on broker downgrade
* Miners boosted by China data, BofA ML note
By Nia Williams
LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Weak banks dragged Britain's top
share index down on Thursday with Royal Bank of Scotland leading
the sector lower on concerns over its exposure to Ireland's debt
while robust Chinese economic data lifted commodity stocks.
By 1219 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was 7.39 points, or 0.1
percent, weaker at 5,809.55, after it closed down 1 percent at
5,816.94 on Wednesday.
Banks took the most points off the index, with RBS <RBS.L>
shedding 3.3 percent as traders cited concerns over its exposure
to Ireland's debt.
RBS's Irish business, Ulster Bank, made a loss of 176
million pounds ($284.2 million) in the third quarter, hit by 286
million pounds of bad loans, in line with the second quarter.
Sector peers Barclays <BARC.L> and HSBC <HSBA.L> dropped 2.6
and 1 percent respectively.
The steepest fall came from interdealer broker ICAP <IAP.L>,
which slipped 4.9 percent after Credit Suisse cut its rating to
"neutral" on valuation grounds.
Market participants said moves on the blue chip index could
remain muted, with no major economic data scheduled for release
on Thursday, and as a two-day G20 summit takes place in Seoul.
"Risk appetite could be seriously undermined if the world's
largest economies fail to come up with a plan to solve the
east-west trade imbalance and avoid a series of debilitating
currency wars," Ben Critchley, a sales trader at IG Index, said.
MINERS LIMIT LOSSES
Commodity stocks <.FTNMX1770> <.FTNMX0530> followed crude
<CLc1> and metals prices higher after figures showing industrial
production in China, the leading consumer of raw materials, grew
13.1 percent in October from a year earlier.
Miners were further buoyed by an upbeat note from BofA
Merrill Lynch, with global miner Xstrata <XTA.L> topping the
FTSE 100 leader board, up 5.2 percent as the broker lifted its
rating on the stock to "buy".
"Miners are really helping the UK market ... which is down
to the Chinese data overnight," David Morrison, market
strategist at GFT Global Markets said.
Antofagasta <ANTO.L> and Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> rose 4.6 percent
and 4.3 percent respectively after BofA Merrill Lynch upgraded
to "buy" on both stocks, while Fresnillo <FRES.L> gained 2.4
percent after an upgrade to "neutral" from the same broker.
"QE (quantitative easing) and dollar debasement figure big
in our latest global commodity review. We factor in higher
commodity prices across the board with copper as a key winner,"
the broker wrote in a note.
"We also see concerns on Chinese growth as overdone ...,"
the broker said.
Telecoms provider BT Group <BT.L> was another big gainer, up
5.4 percent, after raising its full-year core earnings outlook
on the back of better-than-expected second quarter results led
by demand for broadband and its Global Services unit.
(Editing by Hans Peters)
