* FTSE 100 down 0.5 pct; opening gains reversed
* Banks weak as big Fed rate cut discounted
* Oils, miners firm with commodity prices
* John Wood Group lower after trading update
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index .FTSE slipped 0.5 percent lower early on Wednesday as the U.S. Federal Reserve move to cut interest rates on Tuesday to between zero and 0.25 percent failed to raise any festive cheer.
By 0854 GMT the FTSE 100 index was 19.76 points weaker at 4,289.32. The UK blue chip index closed 31.52 points higher on Tuesday at 4,309.08.
"Traders are now concerned that the Fed may have played their hand, and they now have little left in their arsenal should the move fail to revive the economy," said Richard Curr, Head of Dealing at Blue Index.
"In London, it remains to be seen if the BoE (Bank of England) will take similar action next month."
Banking issues fell back after a rally on Tuesday, with HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Lloyds TSB (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) all down 0.5 to 1.3 percent.
HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell further, down 4 percent, with capital raising rumours continuing to swirl around the global bank.
Insurer Admiral Group (ADML.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was also a big faller, down 3.2 percent as UBS became the latest broker to downgrade its rating, down to "neutral" from "buy".
Other insurers, however, rallied after recent falls with Legal & General (LGEN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Friends Provident (FP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Prudential (PRU.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) up between 1.2 and 3 percent.
Strength in energy issues was the main underlying prop for blue chips with crude prices CLc1 firmer as the OPEC meeting in Algeria kicked off at 0830 GMT.
BG Group (BG.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 1.8 percent, BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 0.8 percent, Tullow Oil (TLW.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) firmed 0.8 percent and Cairn Energy (CNE.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 0.3 percent. |
