Britain's FTSE falls as banks, miners slide

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* FTSE 100 down 0.2 pct

* Banks, miners under pressure

* Downgrades hit Ashtead, Carnival (LSE: CCL.L - news)

By Kit Rees

LONDON, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 19 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index retreated on Monday, weighed down by a fall among mining companies and banks, while Ashtead Group (Frankfurt: 894565 - news) and Carnival were hit by downgrades from brokers.

The blue chip FTSE 100 index slid 0.2 percent at 6,998.62 points by 1023 GMT, dipping below the psychologically-significant 7,000-point level.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in banking stocks Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) , Standard Chartered and HSBC were among the top fallers, down between 1.5 percent to 2.1 percent and tracking a broader decline among European banks.

Analysts said that uncertainty among Italian banking shares, in particular regarding a share issue from troubled lender Monte dei Paschi (Milan: BMPS.MI - news) , was dampening the sector.

"We're still waiting to hear whether Monte dei Paschi will be successful in that last-ditch attempt to raise the money it needs," Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said. "Until we get more clarity, the bank sector is going to be a little on edge."

Shares in mining companies also came under pressure as the price of copper touched a three-and-a-half-week low, with Anglo American and Rio Tinto (Hanover: CRA1.HA - news) both down around 1.5 percent.

While shares in British mining stocks have rallied around 96 percent so far this year, analysts at Deutsche Bank (IOB: 0H7D.IL - news) highlighted an acceleration or deceleration in Chinese consumption as a key risk for the sector.

"We expect cash to be returned to shareholders, but are concerned 'house-keeping' capex could start to creep up and new projects could be approved. We doubt that major M&A will make a comeback, and after the 100 percent rally year to date, we now have little upside to our TPs," analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a note.

Downgrades also weighed on shares. Cruise operator Carnival dropped 1.9 percent after a downgrade from Berenberg to "hold" from "buy", citing recent trends in the cost of fuel and a strengthening dollar as headwinds for the stock.

Likewise Ashtead Group slipped 1.6 percent after UBS downgraded the equipment rental firm to a "sell".

UBS (LSE: 0QNR.L - news) analysts said that pricing pressure was increasing for Ashtead, and that they saw a limited benefit from any increase in U.S. infrastructure spending.

Outside of the blue chips, shares in utility Drax Group (Frankfurt: D9F2.F - news) rose 3.3 percent after an upgrade from SocGen (Paris: FR0000130809 - news) to "buy" from "hold". (Reporting by Kit Rees; editing by Mark Heinrich)