FTSE ends slightly lower as metals weigh

By Michael Taylor

LONDON (Reuters) - Leading shares ended fractionally down during a choppy trading session on Tuesday as mining companies tracked weaker metal prices while ITV (ITV.L) marched upwards as persistent bid chatter swirled.

The FTSE 100 .FTSE was down 7.3 points, or 0.1 percent at 5,534.5 points, after hitting a low of 5,491.3 and a high of 5,569.2.

On the downside, metal prices eased as investors shifted some of their money back to the dollar, which weighed on mining stocks.

Rio Tinto (RIO.L), BHP Billiton (BLT.L), Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC.L), Xstrata (XTA.L), Ferrexpo (FXPO.L) and Vedanta Resources (VED.L) were between 1.2 and 6.8 percent lower.

"New York has come in a bit weaker and we've tracked them down, to be fair," said Lawrence Peterman, investment director at Eden Financial.

"It's very quiet, volumes are quite low -- just because it's August. We've had a good run up the market from the lows and waiting to see the next move," he added.

"Unless we get a real big crack in the oil price, the market will probably stay around these sort of levels," he said.

Topping the FTSE 100 gainers' list, free-to-air broadcaster ITV (ITV.L) tacked on 6.3 percent to reach its highest level in more than six weeks as traders cited lingering market talk of a possible bid from TV producer Endemol.