London midday: Stocks lower before US non-farm payrolls

- Miners drop on macro concerns, Australian growth- RBS rises after Q1 update- Markets await US non-farm payrollsThe Footsie was firmly lower by Friday lunchtime as a sell-off in the mining sector outweighed a strong performance by the banks after some well-received results from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).Markets were also showing caution ahead of non-farm payroll data due out in the US later today and elections this weekend France, Greece, Italy and Germany. Regional elections in the UK have been in focus this morning with the leading Conservatives under a great deal of pressure after early results showed that the Labour Party was winning a string of victories up and down England and Wales.European benchmarks broadly registered steep losses early on today "after yesterday's US ISM data wiped out any positivity built up from the low unemployment claims and left investors once again concerned about the recovery in the world's largest economy," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari. Yesterday's press conference with European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi did little to encourage investors who were hoping for further rounds of cheap funding, he said.In other news, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) now expects gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 3% in 2012, lower than its earlier forecast of 3.5% in February. Consumer prices are expected to increase by 2.5% down from 3%. "Exports have been revised lower, largely reflecting a reassessment of the ability of mining companies to utilise new transport and port capacity fully in the near term, along with weaker manufacturing exports," the RBA said today.UK house prices fell by 2.4% month-on-month (-0.5% year-on-year) in April, to £159,883, according to mortgage lender Halifax.FTSE 100: Core RBS operating profit rises sharplyNationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was a high riser after its first-quarter results. The group is to repay the final tranche of notes issued under the government's Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) next week, after posting a profit of more than a billion pounds in the first three months of 2012. Lloyds was also in demand.??Mining stocks were out of favour on the back of concerns over weaker growth in Australia. Evraz, Antofagasta, Kazakhmys, Vedanta, Fresnillo and Rio Tinto were among the worst performers on the Footsie. ??Oil giant Tullow dropped after saying that its Teak-4A appraisal well in the West Cape Three Points Block, offshore Ghana (in which it owns a 26.4% stake), encountered "thin, non-commercial reservoirs" and is, in turn, being plugged and abandoned. ??Power systems group Rolls-Royce fell after giving a brief trading update this morning, reassuring that trading since the start of the year has been consistent with previous guidance. Drugs giant AstraZeneca was making gains after UBS reiterated its buy rating on the stock and added it to the 'UBS Key Calls' list. "With the announcement that CEO Brennan is retiring and new chairman Johansson is starting on June 1st, we increasingly see the likelihood of strategic announcements in 2012 that would unleash value in AZN shares," the broker said.FTSE 250: Rentokil, Laird out of favour after updates Pest control and hygiene services group Rentokil Initial was unwanted after saying that operating profits fell year-on-year mainly as a result of higher central costs and losses at its City Link franchise. ?Laird, which makes antennas and heat protection components often used in tablet computers and smartphones, says difficult trading conditions have continued into the first quarter, although it expects a 'seasonal uplift'. FTSE 100 - RisersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 25.39p +3.42%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 32.45p +2.56%Tesco (TSCO) 322.50p +1.35%ARM Holdings (ARM) 520.50p +1.26%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 712.00p +1.14%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 279.40p +1.05%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,751.50p +0.88%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,610.00p +0.73%United Utilities Group (UU.) 632.50p +0.56%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,453.50p +0.52%FTSE 100 - FallersEvraz (EVR) 342.70p -4.96%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,067.00p -3.70%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 796.00p -3.52%BG Group (BG.) 1,380.00p -3.12%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 114.40p -3.05%Amec (AMEC) 1,097.00p -2.92%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,146.00p -2.88%GKN (GKN) 199.10p -2.83%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,517.00p -2.82%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,271.00p -2.74%FTSE 250 - RisersBwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 159.80p +2.37%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 308.40p +1.55%Marston's (MARS) 99.35p +1.38%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 127.50p +0.95%Avocet Mining (AVM) 162.50p +0.93%Bankers Inv Trust (BNKR) 418.60p +0.92%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.85 +0.85%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 69.20p +0.73%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 130.80p +0.69%BH Global Ltd. GBP Shares (BHGG) 1,189.00p +0.68%FTSE 250 - FallersHays (HAS) 85.90p -5.60%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 48.84p -5.44%Debenhams (DEB) 80.90p -5.32%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 628.00p -5.06%Petropavlovsk (POG) 430.90p -5.05%Laird (LRD) 201.40p -5.00%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 197.90p -4.86%Rentokil Initial (RTO) 82.55p -4.68%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 128.70p -4.17%Lamprell (LAM) 350.00p -4.08%BC