Headline shares were flat in midday trade, with banks and miners rallying and the leisure sector gathering new momentum, but offset by further heavy falls in BP (LON:BP.) and ahead of a cautious US start. At high noon, the FTSE100 was up just 5.3 points at 5,033.45 with the FTSE250 ahead 46.29 points at 9,402.46 and the FTSE Smallcaps 2.16 points lower at 2,707.05. In New York, US stock futures lost way on investor nervousness ahead of the Beige Book report. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 20 points, S&P500 futures lost 2.6 points at 1,056 and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 4.5 points at 1,787.

LONDON MARKETS

Momentum in London slowed in midday trade after news that the UK trade deficit with the rest of the world widened in April and ahead of a probable cautious start in New York. Banks and miners continued to underpin the main index.

Among the banks, Royal Bank Of Scotland Group Plc (LON:RBS) was the prime mover, up 1.05p at 42.5p, while Lloyds gained 0.54p at 52.3p and Barclays (LON:BARC) added 1.15p at 277.7p. Insurers also rallied after recent weakness inspired by Prudential's battles with its shareholders over Asian expansion. Prudential (LON:PRU) was unchanged at 525.5p, but Aviva (LON:AV.) added 2.1p at 319.8p and Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) was 0.2p higher at 75.85p. Fund managers were also back in vogue, with Schroders (LON:SDR) gaining 5p at 1,299p and Man Group (LON:EMG) 0.9p higher at 236p, while private equity group 3i (LON:III) rose 0.8p at 276p.

Amongst the miners, enjoying a rise in prices on the London Metals Exchange, Fresnillo (LON:FRES) topped the leaderboard, up 48.5p at 987.5p, while Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) rose 43p at 3,105p and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) improved 24.5p at 1,792.5p. Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) was the only sector loser, down 50p at 6,040p, as gold eased from yesterday's record high to trade at $1,234 an ounce.

Things perked up in the leisure sector, with InterContinental Hotel Group one of the top blue chip performers, up 27p at 1,094p, as it hosts a two-day analyst and investor presentation in New York. Fellow hotel owner Whitbread (LON:WTB) gain 4p at 1,349p. Holiday operators rallied, with

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