FTSE flat; energy gains offset banks retreat

* Energy stocks gain, shrug off oil price slide

* Miners weaker, tracking weaker metals * Banks weaker but insurers up on Friends Prov M&A talk

By David Brett

LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - London's leading share index in mid-session on Modnay was flat in light volume as gains in defensives and energy stocks, which shrugged off weaker oil prices, were offset by falls in banks and miners.

By 1007 GMT, the FTSE 100 .FTSE was 1.77 points lower at 4,125.40 after it lost 31.49 points to close at 4,127.17 on Friday, its lowest close since April 28.

The blue-chip index has fallen 6.7 percent this year but is up 19.3 percent since touching a six-year low in March.

BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Tullow Oil (TLW.L) all gained between 0.6 percent and 1 percent, but BG Group (BG.L) was already showing signs of softening, down 0.1 percent.

"Oil majors are rising after taking a bit of a hammering recently as oil came back to $60 per barrel. It's a short term bounce. If oil pushes lower again, then expect the big names to continue to fall," says Jimmy Yates, Head of Equities at CMC Markets.

The price of crude languished at a seven-week low CLc1 below $60 per barrel.

Insurers got a boost on a bout of takeover activity after Resolution RS.L said the board of Friends Provident (FP.L) had rebuffed its merger proposal. [ID:nLD542208]

Friends Provident (FP.L) gained 6.7 percent, topping the blue-chip leaderboard, followed by Aviva (AV.L), which added 2.5 percent, while Standard Life, (SL.L) and Old Mutual (OML.L) gained 1.3 and 1.5 percent, respectively.

Defensive tobacco stocks and pharmaceuticals were in slightly positive territory as investors looked to company assets, which they consider to be resilient to economic turmoil.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) added 1.2 percent, Shire (SHP.L) rose 0.3 percent and British American Tobacco (BATS.L) added 0.7 percent.

Heavyweight mobile operator Vodafone (VOD.L), added support, gaining 0.9 percent.