* FTSE off 0.6 pct, Miners hit by demand, production worries
* BP drags energy shares lower on pipe closure concerns
* Smith & Nephew up on Johnson & Johnson bid reports
By David Brett
LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Miners were a major weight on
Britain's top share index on Monday, with worries over demand in
China and floods in Australia dampening sentiment as the sector
extended its poor start to 2011.
By 1142 GMT, the FTSE 100 index <> was down 37.39
points, or 0.6 percent at 5,946.94, having closed off 0.6
percent on Friday. The index remained up 0.8 percent in 2011.
"Sentiment has been knocked with the import data from China,
which followed the disappointing payrolls in the U.S. on Friday,
but this is a minor blip," Jimmy Yates, head of equities at CMC
Markets. said.
Miners <.FTNMX1770> have shed more than 3.5 percent since
the start of 2011, having risen 28 percent in 2010 and 108
percent in 2009, as concerns grew over demand from China after
it reported imports of copper fell in December. []
Kazakh-focused copper miner Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> was the top
FTSE faller, down 4.0 percent.
Flashfloods in Australia, which have severely hurt
Queensland state's $20 billion coking coal export industry, also
weighed on the sector. []
London-listed miner Xstrata <XTA.L> was another top FTSE
faller, off 2.8 percent. The Sunday Times reported Xstrata is
close to winning the $8 billion auction for Colombia's
second-biggest coal miner, without citing sources.
[]
BP PIPELINE TROUBLES
Oil major BP <BP.L> dragged energy shares <.FTNMX0530> down,
falling 2.0 percent after the Trans Alaska Pipeline, of which it
is a major owner, was closed for a second day on Sunday because
of a leak, sending oil prices <CLc1> soaring. []
Oil explorer Tullow Oil <TLW.L> rose 1.1 percent after
bullish updates from two of its wells in Ghana and Mauritania.
Banks <.FTNMX8350> fell on growing jitters over Portugal's
debt after reports that Germany and France are pressuring
Portugal to seek financial help from the EU and IMF to stop the
bloc's debt crisis from spreading. []
Barclays <BARC.L>, however, was up 0.2 percent, as UBS
upgraded its rating to "buy" on hopes its new CEO may soon
unveil a restructuring plan to shed low-return legacy assets
that could see over 10 billion pounds returned to investors by
2014.
Elsewhere, Capital Shopping Centres Plc (CSC) <CSCG.L> fell
2.1 percent as investors feared U.S. company Simon Property
Group <SPG.N> would abandon its pursuit of the firm.
[]
Meanwhile, National Grid <NG.L> fell 1.6 percent, hurt by a
downgrade to "sell" from RBS, citing UK regulatory worries.
On the upside, Smith & Nephew <SN.L> jumped 11.7 percent on
a Sky News report that said, without citing sources, that the
British medical equipment company rejected a 7 billion pound
($10.9 billion) takeover approach from U.S. rival Johnson &
Johnson <JNJ.N> late last year. []
The report prompted Panmure Gordon to raise its rating on
Smith & Nephew to "buy" from "hold".
British testing firm Intertek <ITRK.L> rose 2.5 percent
helped by an upbeat note from Credit Suisse.
With no important U.S. economic pointers due on Monday,
traders looked ahead to the fourth-quarter U.S. reporting
season, which kicks off later today with aluminium producer
Alcoa <AA.N>.
"The FTSE's down around 1.5 percent from last week offering
buyers a way back in, particularly if Alcoa's results beat
expectations," a trader said.
(Editing by Hans Peters)
