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* FTSE 100 down 0.6 pct on commodities weakness
* TUI sinks 9 pct after results disappoint
* Cineworld gets H1 boost from blockbusters
* No-deal Brexit fears sink sterling
By Helen Reid
LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell onThursday as fresh U.S. sanctions on Russia led to a selloff incommodities and several stocks went ex-dividend, whiledisappointing earnings sent travel operator TUI down 9 percent.
Oil and mining stocks across Europe tumbled on the freshblow for commodities giant Russia, driving the FTSE 100to fall 0.6 percent. #Oil majors BP and Shell also tradedex-dividend.
Washington said on Wednesday it would impose freshsanctions on Russia by the end of August, after determining thatMoscow had used a nerve agent against former Russian spy SergeiSkripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England.
In UK stocks, earnings continued to drive the day. TUIshares fell 9.4 percent after its quarterly resultsdisappointed investors. The tourism group blamed a summer heatwave for keeping Europeans at home instead of traveling.
Profitability in the tour operator segment fell, driven byweaker performance in the UK.
"The GBP devaluation and weather impact has been wellflagged, but commentary regarding a shortening of averageduration of holidays is new," said Barclays analysts.
Shares in defence company G4S fell 6.6 percent, setfor their worst day in a year, after first-half earnings missedcompany-compiled expectations, partly due to weaker margins inCash Solutions .
"Attack-related higher operating costs in Africa (followingseveral attacks on cash-in-transit vehicles in South Africa) andinvestment in business development weighed on profitability,"said Goldman Sachs analysts.
Also on the mid-cap FTSE 250 index, card retailerCard Factory fell 10 percent after becoming the latestUK retailer to report fewer customers visiting its stores.
"The main culprit seems to have been lower high streetfootfall as a result of weather and World Cup," said UBSanalysts.
Cinema company Cineworld topped the FTSE 250 with a7 percent gain after it reported a rise in half-year revenuethanks to big-ticket superhero movie releases.Overall, earnings have helped the FTSE 100, with analystsraising their estimates during the season.The FTSE 100 has remained resilient to mounting fears the UKmay be heading for a no deal Brexit, driving sterling to itslowest against the dollar and euro in almost a year. FTSE 100constituents mostly benefit from a weaker currency.
"If the hard Brexit becomes more of a reality, there mightbe an effect, but at the moment most people think it's a bit ofa Mexican standoff," said Paul Mumford, portfolio manager atCavendish Asset Management.
Stocks going ex-dividend, including Barclays, BT, BP, RoyalDutch Shell, Rio Tinto, and Standard Chartered, took 39 pointsoff the FTSE 100.
(Reporting by Helen Reid, editing by Larry King)