FTSE eases into holiday mode around record high

By Kit Rees

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index touched a fresh record high on Friday in holiday-shortened trade before easing at the close as weakness among cyclical stocks weighed.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) index ended the session down 0.2 percent at 7,592.66 points, resting below the 7,600-point level first breached in the previous session.

The index had been in positive territory for much of the session, slipping lower in the last few minutes of trading.

"I doubt the FTSE would be at this record high had Theresa May and the EU not reached the point of the (Brexit) talks so they could progress beyond phase one," David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said.

Depressed cyclical stocks capped gains on the day, with shares in heavyweight financials such as HSBC (HSBA.L), Barclays (BARC.L) and Lloyds (LLOY.L) down 0.1 to 1.2 percent, while commodities stocks followed oil and copper prices lower.

Volumes were thin in the half day of trading ahead of a holiday. The market reopens on Wednesday.

Moves among individual stocks were muted.

While weakness in the pound helped the FTSE's internationally-exposed stocks such as consumer staples earlier on, shares in firms such as British American Tobacco (BATS.L) and Imperial Brands (IMB.L) gave up earlier gains to end as much as 0.9 percent lower.

Sterling, and its correlation with the FTSE, has been a major focus for investors since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016.

The currency has not recovered from last year's plunge, but it has regained some ground in 2017 which has put pressure on British firms that source the bulk of their revenues overseas.

The FTSE 100 has risen 6.3 percent this year compared with a 7.8 percent gain for the broader pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX). Last year, the FTSE advanced more than 14 percent.

Next (NXT.L) was the top gainer, up 3.7 percent, followed by Reckitt Benckiser and Severn Trent (SVT.L). On the downside, Mediclinic (MDCM.L) fell 1.2 percent, having hit a two-month high the previous session.

The mid-cap index (.FTMC) rose 0.3 percent as consumer discretionary stocks and industrials rallied.

Gambling firm GVC (GVC.L) sealed its 4 billion pound takeover of Ladbrokes Coral (LCL.L).

Shares in GVC fell 2.3 percent, while Ladbrokes Coral advanced 1.4 percent. Ladbrokes has gained more than 50 percent this year.

The more domestically-focused FTSE 250 has outperformed the blue chips so far this year, climbing more than 13 percent.

(Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Edmund Blair and Elaine Hardcastle)