* FTSE down 1 percent
* Miner hits as concerns over China's inflation resurface
* Reckitt drops as CEO retires
By David Brett
LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - Miners weighed on Britain's top
share index on Thursday as concerns over the Chinese economy
re-emerged, while investors reacted nervously to the retirement
of Reckitt Benckiser's <RB.L> chief executive.
By 1052 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was down 59.01 points, or
1 percent, at 5,951.43, having closed 0.8 percent higher at
6,010.44 in the previous session
"The 45-point gain (on Wednesday was) not enough to suggest
that Tuesday's (1.5 percent) slide was an aberration," a
technical analyst at Charles Stanley said.
"I would reiterate the FTSE has breached its short-term
uptrend and has not yet done enough to convince that this is
going to be reversed in a hurry."
Miners <.FTNMX1770> fell along with base metal prices as
investors shied away from riskier assets. Analysts cited
concerns ahead of Chinese inflation and GDP data due on Friday.
Chinese inflation in March accelerated to 5.4 percent from a
year earlier, Hong Kong media said on Thursday, which will add
weight to the government's vow to rein in price rises.
[]
"For the coming months we expect increasing volatilities in
cyclical sectors with a more selective and less steady
performance trend," analysts at Unicredit said in an equity
strategy note, citing the impact of China's inflation and growth
concerns.
Integrated oils also fell, with BP <BP.L> down 1 percent. BP
and Russia's Rosneft <ROSN.MM> extended by a month the deadline
to complete a $16 billion share swap hours before its expiry,
giving more time to salvage the deal. []
In the resources sector, commodities trading giant Glencore
published details of long-awaited plans to raise up to $12.1
billion in a London and Hong Kong offering. []
RECKITT RETREATS
British consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser fell 6.5
percent after the firm said Chief Executive Bart Becht is to
retire, six months after announcing the departure of its chief
financial officer. []
"It was one of the most highly regarded management teams, I
would have said, in the FTSE," Martin Dolan, an analyst at
Espirito Santo, said.
"The fact that they've both gone now I think is basically
going to cause some people to reassess (the situation)."
Chip designer ARM Holdings continued its recent erratic
form, falling 2.3 percent, having risen 6.7 percent in the
previous session on excitement surrounding Microsoft's
conference in Las Vegas and its use of ARM-based technology.
Concerns over the impact on the supply chain as a result of
Japan's earthquake remain.
"(The Japan supply issue) is not going to affect in the
short term, it's more the long term going into Q2, Q3," Martin
Dobson, head of trading at Westhouse Securities, said.
"If they do get supply problems with components, those will
probably manifest themselves in forward earnings and I think
you'll probably see cautionary statements coming from a few tech
components and chip makers and the hardware companies if they
have Japanese supply."
Investor locked in gains on banks <.FTNMX8350>, a sector
dogged by regulatory uncertainty.
Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> shed 1.1 percent as Barclays
Capital cut its target price and kept its "underweight" rating
on the bank, saying the UK's Independent Commission on Banking's
stance on Lloyds "will further dilute returns".
On the upside, 3I Group <III.L> rose 1.2 percent boosted by
the partial realisation of its investment in Go Outdoors
announced late on Wednesday, and technical factors following a
12 percent fall in April, traders said.
Unilever <ULVR.L> climbed 0.7 percent as French peer Danone
<DANO.PA> released a strong first-quarter update.
[]
(Additional reporting by Brenda Goh and Tricia Wright.
Editing by Erica Billingham)
