Mixed miners see Britain's FTSE flat in early deals

LONDON Feb 15 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares were flat early on Friday as investors digested mixed results among the miners and the index struggled to make headway around five-year highs.

By 0817 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 2.89 points at 6,324.47, continuing to consolidate after touching five-year intraday highs on Wednesday as the index continues to enjoy strong upside support, preventing any correction after the recent rally.

"The FTSE 100 index remains in a strong up-trend. Support is at 6,175," said Dominic Hawker, a technical analyst at Westhouse Securities.

Anglo American rose 1.6 percent after reporting earnings above the company provided consensus, while Johnson Matthey fell 2.7 percent after saying it expects to suffer a loss of commission income of around 35 million pounds ($54.34 million) after Anglo American Platinum decided not to renew a market development agreement with it. (Written by David Brett; Editing by Toni Vorobyova)