UK's FTSE steadies, digesting mixed earnings

* FTSE 100 closes steady after three days of losses

* Corporate earnings in focus

* GlaxoSmithKline weighs most after weak results

LONDON, July 25 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index

steadied on Wednesday, pausing after three days of falls thanks

to a mixed batch of corporate results that pitted a weak showing

in Europe for GlaxoSmithKline and BT against a sterling

performance for chipmaker Arm.

The international backdrop also offered conflicting signals,

with weak U.S. data on the one hand and growing hopes of fresh

steps to combat the euro zone crisis on the other.

At the close, the FTSE 100 index was broadly flat at

5,498.32 points, taking a breather after a three-session losing

streak. V o lume was once again weak, at two-thirds of its 90-day

daily average.

"With seven FTSE 100 companies reporting today, and 13 due

to update the market on Thursday, we'll have had a fifth of the

UK blue chips reporting in just two sessions. It'll take

analysts and strategists a while to chew through all the

details, but so far the earnings season is looking more mixed

than positive in the UK," said Mike Mason, a trader with Sucden

Financial Private Clients.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), down 1.3 percent, was the

biggest drag on the index, as the group warned that sales in

2012 will be flat and posted below-forecast second-quarter

results due to weakness in the European markets.

"Overall, a slightly disappointing quarter for GSK with a

slight miss both on revenues and EPS, but this is not very

unexpected - GSK had clearly been signaling a weaker Q2 was

likely. The longer-term growth with GSK continues to look

comparatively good," Bernstein Research said in a

note.

The pharmaceuticals heavyweight shaved around 4 points off

the FTSE 100 index.

A lacklustre showing in crisis-hit Europe also hurt

performance at British telecom group BT, down 3.3 percent

as its quarterly results came in below analysts' forecasts.

Espirito Santo Investment Bank analysts described the results as

"a little soft". [ID: nL6E8IP3G5]

Results were not always the top focus, though. Tullow Oil

shed 6.3 percent in heavy volumes, as investors focused

on risks and costs associated with its proposed Uganda

development, shrugging off an in-line rise in first half

profits.

On the upside, ARM Holdings, up 8.6 percent, was the

top gainer trading in high volume of almost twice its 90-day

daily average, with the chip designer's results beating market

expectations as demand for its low power chips in smartphones

and tablets outstripped the industry.

Banks, up 1.2 percent, were the biggest

positive weight on the index, after European Central Bank

policymaker Ewald Nowotny raised the prospect of steps that

could boost the firepower of the euro zone's new bailout fund

earlier on Wednesday spurring a Europe-wide share rebound,

particularly in the heavily sold indexes of Spain and Italy.

HSBC, which reports earnings next Monday, was up

1.4 percent leading the sector and providing it with the biggest

individual support.

Energy stocks were also among the best performers, led by

oil major Shell , up 0.8 percent, which sealed an

exploration tie-up with China's state-run oil firm CNOOC

on Wednesday in a move which will help secure longer

term growth from projects in the world's energy-hungry second

largest economy.

(Reporting by Viktoria Dendrinou; Additional Reporting by Jon

Hopkins)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uks-ftse-steadies-digesting-mixed-earnings-164546488--business.html

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