FTSE ticks down on banks, oils; British Energy rises

* FTSE 100 ticks down 0.2 pct

* British Energy soars after EDF launches takeover

* Miners rebound on firmer metal prices

(For a TAKE A LOOK on financial turmoil, click on [ID:nN13574113])

By Dominic Lau

LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index ticked down early on Wednesday as weakness in oil producers and banks eclipsed gains in British Energy (BGY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) after France's EDF (EDF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) launched a bid for the group.

British Energy surged 5.8 percent to top the FTSE 100 .FTSE gainers after France's EDF (EDF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) launched a 12.5 billion pound ($23.14 billion) agreed takeover bid on the UK nuclear power operator. [ID:nLO702516]

EDF and Centrica (CNA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which owns British Gas, are in talks about Centrica taking a 25 percent stake in the new British Energy following EDF's completion of the deal. Centrica shares strengthened 2.7 percent.

By 0754 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 8.5 points, or 0.2 percent at 5,127.6, after losing 1.9 percent on Tuesday. The UK benchmark has fallen 20.1 percent so far this year.

"There is a lot of indecision in the market. It's just a question of getting through the stalemate in the Congress," said Angus Campbell,

"It's a bailout of the financial sector, which in the long-term will have an effect on the economy. But either way it's a question of putting toxic debt onto government's books rather than corporate books and it won't necessarily mark the bottom of the financial market."

Banks were mostly weaker, with the FTSE 350 bank index down 0.8 percent despite the news of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc investing $5 billion in Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Lloyds TSB (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) were down. But Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) were up.

Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 1.3 percent. The head of Barclays's Italian unit said the lender is interested in bidding for 150 branches that Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) must sell partly meet antitrust concerns.

Man Group (EMG.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) eased 0.6 percent. A source close to the hedge fund group said the company had asked the UK Financial Services Authority to extend its ban on short-selling to Man Group shares.

Energy stocks also eased, with BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), BG Group (BG.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Tullow Oil (TLW.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) down between 0.3 and 2.9 percent.

Imperial Tobacco (IMT.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 2.1 percent after the world's fourth largest cigarette maker said its trading was in line with its expectations as it made progress with the integration of Altadis, particularly in France. [ID:nLO722489]

Rival British American Tobacco (BATS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 1.3 percent.

Smiths Group (SMIN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 3.2 percent after the British engineer posted a 10 percent rise in underlying full-year profit, at the top end of forecasts, and announced three-year sales growth and margin targets for its five businesses.

Miners were generally firmer, with BHP Billiton (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) up. But Kazakhmys (KAZ.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Antofagasta (ANTO.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) were down.

Lonmin (LMI.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 0.7 percent after the Financial Times said confidence was waning that Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would proceed with a formal 5 billion pound offer for Lonmin.

Vedanta Resources (VED.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said it dropped plans to streamline its corporate structure into three units. Vedanta shares were down 3 percent.

Inmarsat (ISA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), G4S (GFS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Petrofac (PFC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Aviva (AV.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell after going ex-dividend. (Editing by Andy Bruce)