FTSE closes 1.6 pct down; commodities, banks weigh

Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:32pm BST

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* FTSE 100 closes 1.6 pct lower

* Oils and miners slip on weaker commodities prices

* British Energy jumps on takeover talk

By Atul Prakash

LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Britain's blue-chip index closed 1.6 percent lower on Thursday as oils and miners tracked softer commodity prices and, along with falling banks, outweighed gains in British Energy (BGY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Kingfisher (KGF.L: Quote, Profile, Research).

The FTSE 100 .FTSE ended down 87.6 points at 5,362.3, after rising 1.6 percent on Wednesday. The benchmark index has fallen 17 percent this year, against an average yearly gain of more than 10 percent in the previous five years.

Banks slipped after early gains on a smaller-than-expected fall in the earnings of Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research), as concerns about global economic growth and financial stress continued to dampen market sentiment.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research), HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research), HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Lloyds TSB (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) fell between 0.6 and 2.5 percent. Continued...