FTSE edges further away from record high, led down by Barclays

* Blue-chip FTSE 100 index falls 0.2 percent

* Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) falls after downgrade by Investec (LSE: INVP.L - news)

* TUI (LSE: TUI.L - news) gains on hopes of meeting growth target (Recasts, adds detail, quote)

By Alistair Smout

LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index edged down on Wednesday, giving away early gains, led lower by Barclays after a broker downgrade.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 10.64 points, or 0.2 percent, at 7,009.04 points by 1138 GMT, falling further away from a new record high hit in the previous session.

The benchmark had hit a record intra-day high of 7,065.08 on Tuesday but ended down 0.3 percent.

It has gained nearly 7 percent so far this year and is up about 15 percent since a low in the middle of December, helped by a strong recovery in the British economy and a bond-buying programme by the European Central Bank.

The index had rallied for six straight days before Tuesday's reversal.

"I'm not surprised to see us pause at these levels, as after the strong run we've seen, the index has hit a region of resistance around 7,050," said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at Gain Capital (NYSE: GCAP - news) , adding that the index should be supported by previous resistance around 6,900.

"Having made new highs so recently, however, the path of least resistance is clearly still to the upside."

Barclays was the top faller, down 2.4 percent after Investec downgraded its rating on the stock to "hold" from "buy".

TUI was the top gainer, rising 3.6 percent after it said it was confident of meeting a target to lift full-year underlying operating profit by 10 to 15 percent, helped by rising holiday sales and prices.

"It's encouraging to see that TUI is expecting good summer bookings and on track to deliver strong growth," said Securequity sales trader Jawaid Afsar.

"This is also a positive signal for the entire sector, which is getting some tailwind from lower fuel prices and relatively more money in the hands of consumers due to lower inflation."

British infrastructure group Balfour Beatty (Other OTC: BAFBF - news) rose 6.8 percent, the top mid-cap FTSE 250 riser, despite scrapping its dividend after suffering a loss of 59 million pounds ($87.6 million) in 2014. Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) rose as the market welcomed signs that the company was tackling its problems. (Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Pravin Char)