RTRS: FTSE flat at midday; pharmas up; miners, banks down
* Pharmas rally as EU report fails to surprise * Miners easier on profit-taking
* Wall Street seen lower after Thanksgiving
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index .FTSE was flat at midday, with profit-taking weakness in miners just balanced by gains in drugmakers.
At 1145 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was 4.17 points, or 0.1 percent, lower at 4,230.27 after closing 73.41 points, or 1.8 percent, higher on Thursday.
The UK blue chip index is still up over 12 percent on the week.
U.S. stocks look set for modest falls when the market opens for a half-day session Friday, having been closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving, following on from four sessions of advances ahead of the holiday.
"There is relief we are up where we are at the moment, and no-one wants to rock the boat," said Mic Mills, a trader at spread betting firm ETX Capital.
Drug stocks lent their strength to the FTSE 100 with the sector rallying after the publication of a long-anticipated EU report on generic competition.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said preliminary results of a year-long probe showed competition in the pharmaceuticals industry did not work as well as it should.
However with a lack of specific penalties, traders said, pharma stocks recovered some of their losses, lifting GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), AstraZeneca (AZN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), and Shire (SHP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) between 2.5 and 3.9 percent.
Among media issues, BSkyB (BSY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) advanced 4.5 percent after the firm said it had applied for permission to appeal the Competition Appeal Tribunal's ruling that it had to reduce its 17.9 percent stake in free-to-air broadcaster ITV (ITV.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to below 7.5 percent.
Shares in mid-cap ITV (ITV.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shed 6.6 percent. The TV broadcaster told staff on Thursday it had called in Boston Consulting Group to help implement a second phase of cost cuts, the Financial Times said.
MINERS SUCCUMB TO PROFIT-TAKING
Heavyweight mining issues were weak as early enthusiasm for the sector faded into profit-taking, reflecting easier commodity prices.
Kazakhmys (KAZ.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was the top FTSE 100 faller, down 6.4 percent, while Antofagasta (ANTO.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) lost between 5.2 and 6.3 percent.
Oil majors were mixed with crude prices easier CLc1 ahead of a weekend OPEC meeting, although the cartel has not ruled out making its third supply cut in three months.
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 0.5 percent and BG Group gained 1.1 percent, but BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) lost 0.8 percent.
Oil explorer Tullow Oil (TLW.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) lost 2.2 percent as its exposure to the Indian sub-continent created some uncertainties, according to traders.
Political risks remain high in the region as Indian forces battle militants who killed at least 119 people in Mumbai, while a state of emergency in Thailand underscored the dangers of political unrest in emerging markets.
Banks were also mixed after recent rallies on hopes the sector's woes could be easing as the UK government's bailout bears fruit.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shares shed 4.4 percent following news the UK government will take a 57.9 percent stake in the group after investors took up just 0.24 percent of the shares offered in its state-backed capital raising.
Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) both lost 1.4 percent but Lloyds TSB (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) took on 3.1 percent, HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 2.4 percent, and Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 2.2 percent.
Insurers were also mixed after recent gains, with RSA Insurance (RSA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) losing 3.7 percent, while Aviva (AV.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was the top FTSE 100 riser, up 5.2 percent. (Editing by David Cowell;)
