FTSE weighed down by commods, banks, Vodafone
* FTSE ends down 2.1 pct
* Resources stocks follow lower commodity prices
* Ex-dividend Vodafone weighs
* Food retailers, BAE, Drax up on broker comments
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index lost 2.1 percent on Wednesday, dented by weakness in commodity stocks, banks and index heavyweight Vodafone (VOD.L), which traded ex-dividend.
At the close, the FTSE 100 .FTSE was down 93.60 points at 4,383.42, albeit above the session low of 4,359.33.
Having hit highs not seen since early January on Monday, the blue-chip index has shed 2.7 percent since but still remains almost 24 percent above the six-year low reached on March 9.
"With both the ECB and BoE decisions tomorrow as well as the (U.S.) unemployment numbers on Friday, all eyes are going to be focused on a busy economic calendar that may not only decide the short-term direction on the major indices but may well give us an indication as to just how green the green shoots really are," said Jimmy Yates, head of equities at CMC Markets.
Oil producers were the standout losers, retreating after recent gains in line with crude prices CLc1. BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), BG Group (BG.L), Tullow Oil (TLW.L) and Cairn Energy (CNE.L) dropped between 3.1 and 4.1 percent.
The mining sector also suffered as metal prices went into reverse. Vedanta Resources (VED.L), Xstrata (XTA.L), Anglo American (AAL.L), BHP Billiton (BLT.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and Antofagasta (ANTO.L) lost between 1.6 and 8 percent.
Banks took another chunk off the index, with Barclays (BARC.L) down 5 percent, extending the previous session's 13.5 percent decline.
Abu Dhabi government-owned International Petroleum Investment Company on Tuesday sold a more than 11 percent stake in the British bank.
HSBC (HSBA.L) fell 1 percent as traders cited market talk of Saudi conglomerate Saad Group [SAADG.UL] selling down its near 3 percent holding in Europe's biggest bank.
A company executive at the privately owned Saudi firm denied the market speculation but the group itself and HSBC both declined to comment on the rumour. Continued...
