* Miners hit by concerns over tightening in China
* Banks fall; UK Q4 GDP weaker than expected
* Defensive issues in demand
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell 0.5 percent by midday on Tuesday, led down by weak miners tracking lower metals prices, and with banks pressured after final UK fourth-quarter GDP data failed to match expectations.
By 1212 GMT, the FTSE 100 index <
> was off 27.28 points, or 0.5 percent, at 5,233.03, looking to take its losing streak into a fifth straight session -- something not seen since Feb. 2009. The index dropped 0.8 percent on Monday.The benchmark British index is down 3.4 percent this year after gaining 22 percent in 2009.
Commodity issues, which have been under pressure over concerns of possible tighter monetary policy in China, were in the doldrums again as metal prices declined and crude oil <CLc1> dropped towards $74 a barrel.
The FTSE 100 fallers list was peppered with miners, with Fresnillo <FRES.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> and Lonmin <LMI.L> shedding 2.6 to 3.6 percent.
Rio Tinto <RIO.L> and BHP Billiton <BLT.L> dropped 2.2 and 2.1 percent, respectively, after EU regulators on Monday launched an investigation into whether a planned $116 billion iron ore production joint venture between the two companies, criticised by steelmakers, will curb competition.
Among weak energy stocks BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and BG Group <BG.L> lost 0.3 to 0.7 percent.
Britain crept out of recession in the fourth quarter of 2009 but only just and with a far weaker growth rate than expected, data showed on Tuesday, suggesting any monetary tightening remains a long way off. [
]Banks were out of favour. Barclays <BARC.L>, hurt by a target price cut from Deutsche Bank, lost 1.6 percent, while Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> and Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> fell 2.2 and 2.4 percent.
"The banks remain exposed to a UK recovery and the GDP number this morning was very anaemic despite the very considerable support that the economy has received from the central authorities over the last 12 months," said Paul Kavanagh, partner at Killik & Co.
But Standard Chartered <STAN.L> bucked the sector trend, up 1.2 percent as Nomura raised its rating to "buy" from "neutral" citing valuation grounds.
DEFENSIVES LIMIT LOSSES
With investor appetite for risk muted, defensive issues were in favour. Pharmaceutical stocks were the best blue-chip performers, helped by well-received results from Swiss peer Novartis <NOVN.VX>, with GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>, AstraZeneca <AZN.L> and Shire <SHP.L> putting on 0.1 to 0.6 percent.
Cigarette firm Imperial Tobacco <IMT.L> was a top FTSE 100 riser, while household cleaning goods group Reckitt Benckiser <RB.L> added 0.7 percent.
British Airways <BAY.L> rose 0.6 percent as Morgan Stanley lifted its stance on European airlines to 'attractive' from 'cautious' as it is more comfortable that passenger cargo and capacity trends will be favourable in 2010.
Midcap airline easyJet <EZJ.L> climbed 3.1 percent after the same broker upped its target price in the sector review.
Elsewhere on the second line, UK bookmakers William Hill <WMH.L> and Ladbrokes <LAD.L> saw good demand, up 2.4 and 2.7 percent, after Cazenove upgraded its rating for both in a sector review. (Editing by Hans Peters)