* FTSE 100 up 0.1 pct at close
* Banks, miners under pressure
* Downgrade hits Ashtead (Recasts, adds detail and updates prices at close)
By Kit Rees
LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index edgedhigher on Monday though falls among mining companies and bankscapped gains, while Ashtead Group was hit by a brokerdowngrade.
The blue chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.1 percent at7,017.16 points at its close after a choppy session.
The index was led higher by a rise among more defensivestocks, including pharma firms Hikma and Mediclinic, as well as Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever as investors took profits in banking stocks, which gained more than 7 percent last week.
Shares in banking stocks Barclays, StandardChartered, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds were among the top fallers, down between 1.9 percent to2.8 percent and tracking a broader decline among European banks.
Analysts said that uncertainty among Italian banking shares,in particular regarding a share issue from troubled lender Montedei Paschi, was dampening the sector.
"We're still waiting to hear whether Monte dei Paschi willbe successful in that last-ditch attempt to raise the money itneeds," Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets,said. "Until we get more clarity, the bank sector is going to bea little on edge."
Ashtead Group dropped 4.8 percent, the top FTSE 100faller, after UBS downgraded the equipment rental firm to a"sell". UBS analysts said that pricing pressure was rise forAshtead, and that they saw a limited benefit from any increasein U.S. infrastructure spending.
Shares in mining companies also came under pressure as theprice of copper touched a four-week low.
While shares in British mining stocks have rallied around 96percent so far this year, analysts at Deutsche Bank highlightedan acceleration or deceleration in Chinese consumption as a keyrisk for the sector.
"We expect cash to be returned to shareholders, but areconcerned 'house-keeping' capex could start to creep up and newprojects could be approved. We doubt that major M&A will make acomeback, and after the 100 percent rally year to date, we nowhave little upside to our TPs," analysts at Deutsche Bank saidin a note.
Outside of the blue chips, shares in utility Drax Group jumped more than 8 percent after an upgrade from SocGento "buy" from "hold", and the European Commission approvedDrax's conversion of a third power plant unit to biomass fromcoal. (Reporting by Kit Rees; editing by Mark Heinrich)