Finance & Stock Market News

By Jon Hopkins

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Weakness in integrated

oils and banks pulled Britain's leading share index lower on

Thursday, with both sectors reversing recent gains, although

overall loses were limited by a rally in mining stocks and

expectations for a firm start on Wall Street.

At 1146 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was down 5.82 points

or 0.1 percent at 5,939.61, having shed 0.2 percent in the

previous session following five successive days of gains, the

longest winning streak since last summer.

'Beware the Ides of March! The 15th day of the month was a

particularly bad day for Julius Caesar, and it seems as if

investors are rather nervous themselves today,' said Chris

Beauchamp, Market Analyst at IG Index.

'Having faltered yesterday in its latest drive on 6,000, the

FTSE remains unable to make much headway, even if there is as

yet no bad news that seems capable of taking it lower,'

Beauchamp added.

Energy stocks knocked the most points off the

FTSE 100 index, led by BP which was down 0.9 percent,

reversing gains made in the previous session as Brent crude prices marked time after recent strength.

Banks also fell back on a bout of

profit-taking, with global heavyweight HSBC down 0.4

percent, having been boosted on Wednesday by U.S. bank stress

test results.

Miners, however, Wednesday's biggest

casualties, enjoyed a rebound, tracking a recovery in copper

prices, up 0.4 percent.



SHIRE SHUNNED

Shire was the top FTSE 1200 faller, down 1.5 percent

as the drugmaker said it was acquiring U.S. firm Ferrokin

Biosciences Inc, and its Phase 2 iron chelator treatment, for an

upfront payment of $100 million

Shire shares were already under pressure after the

drugmaker pulled its application to the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) for approval of its Replagal drug to treat

Fabry disease, a rare genetic disorder.

'Withdrawing the U.S. Replagal regulatory filing on more

onerous FDA clinical requirements is a surprise setback for

Shire,' Jefferies said in a note, estimating that removing $95

million peak U.S. Replagal sales from its model would cut

earnings per share by between 2 percent and 3 percent.

Tesco was down 1.2 percent after it said the head

of its UK business Richard Brasher is quitting, leaving question

marks over its strategy following its recent profit warning.

But elsewhere in the stores sector, clothing retailer Next topped the blue chip leaderboard, up 2.7 percent ahead

of full-year results due on March 22, with UBS repeating its

'buy' rating on the stock in a preview.

'Aided by share buybacks, we believe this will be another

year of double-digit growth in EPS,' UBS said in a note.

Marks & Spencer also found support, up 1.6 percent.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to

modest early gains on Wall Street, with investors awaiting a

batch of data, including February U.S. PPI numbers, and U.S.

weekly jobless claims at 1230 GMT.



(Editing by David Holmes)

(jon.hopkins@thomsonreuters.com)(02075428954)(Reuters Messaging: jon.hopkins.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)

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