Earnings-day blues drags UK shares down
* FTSE 100 down 0.5 pct, in line with Europe
* Travis Perkins (LSE: TPK.L - news) , Standard Life (LSE: SL.L - news) down after results
* Smiths Group (Other OTC: SMGKF - news) lifted by report of activist stake
* Coca-Cola HBC falls after Goldman downgrade
LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Top UK shares opened on a downbeat note on Tuesday, with a mixed bag of corporate earnings and weakness in the technology sector offsetting reports of activist stake-building.
The FTSE 100 index was down 0.4 percent at 0804 GMT, broadly in line with peers across Europe, though it has so far this year underperformed the region as a commodities sell-off and worries over China demand weigh on London-listed mining and energy shares.
While early trading on Tuesday saw something of a rebound for miners, with investors focusing on their ability to cut spending in the face of the commodity price drop, sluggish trade kept energy stocks such as BG Group (LSE: BG.L - news) and BP in negative territory.
Technology stocks including ARM Holdings (LSE: ARM.L - news) were also weak after rocky Asia trading that saw Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) suppliers fall.
"The continuation of this commodity drag has meant the UK index underwent another lifeless open," said Connor Campbell, analyst at Spreadex.
Home-improvement company Travis Perkins was among the FTSE 100's worst performers after it published a trading update that it said was in line with forecasts, though some analysts said the figures were disappointing.
Insurer Standard Life saw first-half profits dented by a drop in sales of fixed-rate annuities. The shares fell nearly 3 percent. International Airlines Group also fell after reiterating annual growth but slightly reduced capacity growth.
Bottling company Coca-Cola HBC fell after a broker downgrade from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) , which cited pressures on revenue growth and profitability and a lack of takeover potential.
Deal hopes were much stronger with Smiths Group, whose shares jumped more than 6 percent on reports of stake-building in Smiths Group.
Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS.L - news) enjoyed small gains after news that Britain had sold a 2.1 billion pound ($3.3 billion) stake to kick off the disposal of its holding seven years after bailing out the bank.
(Reporting by Lionel Laurent; Editing by Alison Williams)