* FTSE 100 about flat
* FTSE 250 down 0.3 pct
* Mining shares hit as Vale set to reopen Brazilian mine
* Bunzl plunges after first-quarter update
* Mediclinic surges on mid-caps (Adds company news items, updates to closing prices)By Muvija M and Samantha MachadoApril 17 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 was off itssix-month high as a fall in miners over Vale's plans to reopen amajor Brazilian mine offset gains in banks after upbeat datafrom China, while Bunzl sank on a slowdown in revenue growth.The FTSE 100 was little changed by session end,lagging its peers on Wall Street and in Europe, while mid-caps gave up 0.3 percent. Both indexes had scaled theirhighest levels in over six months in the last session.
Miners lost 1.2 percent after Vale SA said it expected to resume operations at its Brucutumine within 72 hours .London-listed shares in Rio Tinto fell 2.7 percentand BHP , the world's biggest miner, gave up 2.5 percentafter cutting its iron ore output target following a tropicalcyclone. Business supplies distributor Bunzl plunged 9.3percent on its worst day in a decade after reporting a slowdownin quarterly growth due to sluggish performance of its groceryand retail business in North America, its biggest market.The sour mood persisted despite forecast-beating Chineseeconomic growth data, which Markets.com analyst Neil Wilsonattributed to stimulus measures taken by Beijing and U.S.President Donald Trump's decision not to raise tariffs in March."Nevertheless, despite these better figs, we should remindourselves that China is growing at its weakest pace in aboutthree decades," Wilson said.
Positive data from China brought back some appetite forriskier holdings and hurt safe haven assets. As a result, dollarearners including AstraZeneca , GlaxoSmithKline and British American Tobacco weighed on the mainbourse.But Asia-exposed financial heavyweights Prudential and HSBC gained after the data, helping cushion thesteep fall in miners.
Banks also got a boost from Morgan Stanley's resultsthat showed the big U.S. bank's quarterly earnings beat analystestimates as wealth management business grew.Among mid-caps, office developer Derwent London ledreal estate stocks lower as data showed British house pricegrowth in February was at the weakest rate in six-and-a-halfyears with Brexit uncertainty weighing on industry.A dip in the pound also weighed on the index.Sterling weakened after data showing annual consumer priceinflation was 1.9 percent last month, below forecasts for a 2percent rise and below the Bank of England's target of 2percent.
Telecom Plus slipped 3.2 percent after warning thatfull-year profit would be lower than expected. Keeping a lid on losses were London-listed shares ofMediclinic that rose nearly 8 percent. The companyforecast annual core profit would fall in line with marketexpectations. Housebuilder Countryside also advanced 5 percentafter an upbeat half-year trading update.On the small-cap index , car dealership chainPendragon lost 9.7 percent after it said it would reviewits operational and financial prospects under its new managementfollowing margin pressures that led to a quarterly loss. (Reporting by Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi in BengaluruEditing by Mark Heinrich and Peter Graff)
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