* Deliveroo surges after German peer buys stake
* Hargreaves Lansdown slumps on profit miss
* Weak gold and metal prices drag miners
* Miners reverse early losses
(Updates to market close)
By Shashank Nayar and Ambar Warrick
Aug 9 (Reuters) - Steep losses in energy stocks held back
gains in London's blue-chip index on Monday, as oil prices
slumped on concerns over rising COVID-19 cases, while financial
services group Hargreaves Lansdown plummeted on weak earnings.
Britain's biggest fund supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown
tumbled 11.3% and was the biggest faller in the FTSE
100 after it missed profit estimates, even though it attracted
record numbers of new clients on the back of rising retail
participation.
The FTSE 100 index ended 0.1% higher on gains in
defensive sectors, including consumer staples and healthcare,
while mining stocks recovered from early losses.
Energy companies weighed the most on the index, with Royal
Dutch Shell and BP falling 0.8% and 0.7%,
respectively.
Oil prices slumped around 4% as rising COVID-19 cases,
particularly in China, prompted concerns over new curbs on
activity, which could hurt demand for oil.
"The drop seems to be a short-term blip rather than a
market-wide worry as support for commodities still seems to be
unshaken," said David Madden, an analyst at Equiti Capital.
The mid-cap index ended flat. Global recruiter
PageGroup was among the worst performers in the index,
falling 3.2% after its first-half profit fell below 2019 levels.
The FTSE 100 index has gained nearly 10% so far this year
but has largely lagged U.S. and European peers, hurt by a
resurgence in COVID-19 infections and inflation fears
outweighing optimism around robust corporate earnings.
As the UK economy re-opens, the market knows higher
inflation will not be an issue as long as it is in tandem with
economic growth, Madden said.
Among other stocks, Vecture gained 5.5% after
tobacco company Philip Morris raised its bid for the
drugmaker to 165 pence ($2.29) per share.
Deliveroo surged 4.5% after its German rival
Delivery Hero took a 5.09% stake in the British food
delivery company.
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar and Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru;
Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Ramakrishnan M. and Jane Merriman)
