FTSE flat with quarter-end in focus, oils gain
* Oils track stronger crude higher
* Pharmas gain but other defensives weaker
* UK final Q1 GDP contracts at fastest rate in 50 yrs
By Farah Master
LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index was flat in late morning trade on Tuesday as energy stocks got a lift from higher crude prices, offsetting losses in food retailers, tobacco and beverage companies.
By 1032 GMT, the FTSE 100 .FTSE index was 0.44 points lower at 4,293.59 after gaining 1.3 percent in the previous session.
The blue chip index is up 9.1 percent on the quarter and on track for its best such performance since the final quarter of 2003. The index has gained 23.8 percent since touching a six-year low on March 9.
"It's almost as if the summer holidays have started early. I think it is much of the same sideways movement and there is not a tremendous amount of activity excluding the mining sector," said Tim Whitehead, a stockbroker at Redmayne-Bentley.
Rising crude prices to over $72 a barrel helped push oil majors higher. BG Group (BG.L), BP (BP.L) Cairn Energy, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) gained between 0.4 and 1.4 percent.
The FTSE was little changed after data showed the British economy contracted at its fastest rate in more than 50 years. [ID:nLU251811]
The British economy contracted at a much sharper pace than initially thought, falling by 2.4 percent in the first quarter, revised down from a fall of 1.9 percent.
"It's too early to say whether there is going to be any definitive guidance on the economy till towards the end of the year and the first quarter of 2010," said Whitehead.
Miners also gained on higher metal prices with Rio Tinto (RIO.L), Anglo American (AAL.L) and Xstrata (XTA.L) up between 0.6 and 1.7 percent.
Banks also bucked the weaker trend, finding support at the end of the quarter helped by recent bullish broker comment. Barclays (BARC.L), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) and Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) took on 0.6 to 2.8 percent, although HSBC (HSBA.L) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L) shed 0.6 and 1.6 percent respectively.
Pharmaceuticals stocks were also a positive for the index with AstraZeneca (AZN.L), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) and Shire (SHP.L) up 0.2 to 1.6 percent. Continued...
