Britain's FTSE hits three-week low as financials, Tesco fall

* FTSE 100 down 1.8

* Tesco drops after agreement to sell assets

* Standard Life falls on downgrade

* Brexit worries weigh on market (Recasts, adds quote and detail, updates prices)

By Kit Rees and Sudip Kar-Gupta

LONDON, June 10 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index fellon Friday, hit by a drop in grocer Tesco as well asmajor financial and commodity stocks, while uncertainty over thevote this month on European Union membership also weighed on themarket.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 1.8 percent at6,122.17 points by 1431 GMT, hitting a three-week low.

Grocer Tesco was among the top fallers, dropping3.7 percent after the supermarket had agreed to sell its Turkishbusiness and Giraffe restaurant chain in the United Kingdom.

"The disposal of Giraffe was thought to be off the table, sothe apparent change of heart suggests a level of desperation,"Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets, said in a note.

Insurer Standard Life was down 3.6 percent afterinvestment bank UBS cut its price target on the group.

Several traders said they did not expect the FTSE to makemuch progress in the build-up to the "Brexit" June 23 vote onBritain's membership of the EU, given persistent uncertaintyover the result.

Although the latest betting odds on website Betfair show theimplied probability of a British vote to stay in the EuropeanUnion has risen to almost 78 percent, opinion polls remain spliton the matter.

"The heightened fears over the impact a Brexit could have inthe UK, Europe, and global economy has renewed a wave of jittersthat has weighed on global sentiment," said FXTM researchanalyst Lukman Otunuga.

A retreat in metals and oil prices also knocked back theshares of mining and energy companies such as BP andAnglo American.

London copper ticked lower on Friday, and was facing itslargest weekly loss in more than a month as headwinds from alikely mid-term U.S. rate hike that have boosted the dollaradded to pressure from tepid physical demand in top user China.

"With commodity markets showing weakness in China, we haveseen a second day of weakness in the FTSE," said CornhillCapital stockbroker Lewis Jones.

Among the risk-off sentiment, precious metals minersRandgold Resources and Fresnillo both gained1.8 percent as perceived safe-haven assets were in demand.

Outside of the blue chips, Deutsche Bank's downgrades toPageGroup and Hays sent the stocks down 7.2percent and 6.5 percent lower respectively.

Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the pair to "sell" from"hold", saying while staffing and recruitment companies havealready de-rated, it is too early to say that a downturn is "inthe price" until the earnings downgrades have started to comethrough.

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Mike Dolan, Markets Editor EMEA. (Editing by Tom Heneghan and Janet Lawrence)