* FTSE 100 flat, FTSE 250 down 0.1%
* BP losses steam after Reuters' report
* Sirius Minerals sinks to record low
* Drop in banks countered by gains in consumer staples
(Adds news items, analyst comment, updates to closing price)
By Yadarisa Shabong
Sept 17 (Reuters) - Britain's blue-chip index ended flat on
Tuesday as losses in oil major BP, triggered by a report that
Saudi Arabia's output could be back up quicker than expected,
were countered by gains in so-called defensive sectors.
The FTSE 100 was marginally down at 0.01%. The FTSE
250 fell 0.1%, dragged lower by a collapse in the shares
of fertiliser maker Sirius Minerals after the company cancelled
the bond tender at the heart of a crucial project in northern
England.
BP fell 1.4% as crude prices dropped after a top
Saudi Arabian source told Reuters that production could be fully
back on line within weeks following weekend attacks that halved
the kingdom's output.
Meanwhile, heightened geopolitical worries and global
slowdown concerns have sent investors flocking to so-called
defensive sectors such as healthcare and tobacco stocks, ahead
of a widely expected rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve on
Wednesday.
AstraZeneca and British American Tobacco
were among the biggest boosts on the main index, countering a
drag by the financial sector.
"Given what is going on in relation to Brexit, traders are
erring on the side of caution," CMC Markets analyst David Madden
said as a Bank of England meeting is also due this week.
"(Traders) are taking the view that interest rates in the UK
in the near term are probably more like to go down than they are
up,"
Meanwhile, Britain's Supreme Court began hearing arguments
about whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to suspend
parliament in the run-up to Brexit was illegal.
On the mid-cap, Sirius Minerals plunged more than
50% to an all-time low after it scrapped a plan to raise $500
million in a bond sale as the government turned down a renewed
request for backing.
But Woodford Patient Capital Trust rose 2.3%. The
listed fund run by money manager Neil Woodford named
BenevolentAI as the company that Link Fund Solutions, its
authorised corporate director, last week cut its stake
valuation.
Among other London-listed companies, French Connection
slid 13% to its lowest level in more than one year
after the fashion retailer delayed its sale process for the
second time, with conclusion now expected by end of the
financial year.
Staffline dropped 22% as the recruiter posted a
loss in the first half and warned that Brexit had become a
source of unprecedented uncertainty for its customers.
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick
Graham, Subhranshu Sahu and Ed Osmond)
