* FTSE 100 down 0.3 pct
* British Energy soars after EDF launches takeover
* Miners, energy stocks down
* Banking stocks lifted by Buffett's Goldman stake
(For a TAKE A LOOK on financial turmoil, please double click on
[])
By Simon Falush
LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell
0.3 percent by midday on Wednesday as weakness in energy
companies outweighed a slight rise in banking stocks in thin,
jittery trading.
Banks were in the black as central banks moved for the
second time in 24 hours to pour billions of dollars into money
markets and U.S. investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway
said it would buy a $5 billion stake in Goldman Sachs <GS.N>.
[]
By 1118 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 14.5 points, or 0.3
percent at 5,121.4, after losing 1.9 percent on Tuesday. The UK
benchmark has fallen 20.4 percent so far this year.
The blue chip index's losses were also limited by gains in
British Energy <BGY.L> after France's EDF <EDF.PA> launched a
bid for the group. []
However, overall sentiment was dominated by the crisis in
global financial markets that was reignited by the demise of
U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers, which was forced into
bankruptcy protection last week.
"There's a bit of a relief rally (in banks), people are
bottom fishing after sharp recent falls but people are still
very concerned about the fallout from Lehman, and there's still
likely to be negative news so I wouldn't think that banks will
end the week up," Colin McLean, managing director at SVM Asset
Management in Edinburgh, said.
The FTSE 350 bank index <.FTNMX8350> was up 0.4 percent on
the day, but down 6 percent on the week, on track for its
biggest fall since January..
Standard Chartered <STAN.L> gained 0.75 percent, Royal Bank
of Scotland <RBS.L> added 4.6 percent and HBOS <HBOS.L> firmed
1.7 percent.
However HSBC <HSBA.L> and Lloyds TSB <LLOY.L> were in the
red.
Barclays <BARC.L> added 1.1 percent. The head of Barclays'
Italian unit said the lender is interested in bidding for 150
branches that Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena <BMPS.MI> must
sell partly to meet antitrust concerns. [
Man Group <EMG.L> rose 2.8 percent. A source close to the
hedge fund group said the company had asked the UK Financial
Services Authority to extend its ban on short-selling to Man
Group shares. [ID:nLO11977]
British Energy surged 5.8 percent to top the FTSE 100
gainers after France's EDF <EDF.PA> launched a 12.5 billion
pound ($23.14 billion) agreed takeover bid for the UK nuclear
power operator. []
EDF and Centrica <CNA.L>, which owns British Gas, are in
talks about Centrica taking a 25 percent stake in British Energy
following EDF's completion of the deal. Centrica shares
strengthened 2.7 percent.
THIN TRADING
However generally moves were muted and volumes low as
investors awaited more details on the progress of the U.S.
government's $70 billion financial bailout plan.
"The market is very nervous. No one knows what to do," a
trader in Frankfurt said.
Energy stocks eased, with BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L>, BG Group <BG.L> and Tullow Oil <TLW.L> down between
0.7 and 2.6 percent.
Imperial Tobacco <IMT.L> gained 2.7 percent after the
world's fourth-largest cigarette maker said trading was in line
with its expectations as it made progress with the integration
of Altadis, particularly in France. []
Rival British American Tobacco <BATS.L> added 0.5 percent.
Smiths Group <SMIN.L> rose 2.9 percent after the British
engineer posted a 10 percent rise in underlying full-year
profit, at the top end of forecasts, and announced three-year
sales growth and margin targets for its five businesses.
Medical products firm Smith & Nephew <SN.L> gained 2.7
percent after Dresdner Kleinwort raised its rating to "buy" from
"hold".
Mining stocks were mixed with lower gold prices weighing on
sentiment on the sector but stronger base metals supporting some
stocks.
Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, Kazakhmys <KAZ.L>, and Eurasian Natural
Resources <ENRC.L> were flat to 5.3 percent higher, while BHP
Billiton <BLT.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L> Antofagasta <ANTO.L> and Anglo
American <AAL.L> fell between 0.5 and 4.5 percent.
Lonmin <LMI.L> gained 1.1 percent despite the Financial
Times saying confidence was waning that Xstrata <XTA.L> would
proceed with a formal 5 billion pound offer for Lonmin.
Vedanta Resources <VED.L> said it had dropped plans to
streamline its corporate structure into three units. Vedanta
shares were down 5.7 percent.
Inmarsat <ISA.L>, Petrofac <PFC.L> and Aviva <AV.L> fell
after going ex-dividend while G4S <GFS.L> gained 0.6 percent.
(Additional reporting by Dominic Lau and Peter Starck; editing
by Sue Thomas)
