* U.S. non-farm payrolls eyed at 1330 GMT * Defensive utilities, drugmakers gain By Harpreet Bhal LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares fell 0.4 percent in early trade on Friday, pressured by weakness in financials and energy firms on cautiousness ahead of a crucial jobs report from the United States due later in the session. By 0911 GMT, the FTSE 100 .FTSE was down 22.10 points at 5,290.88, tracking weakness in Asia and on Wall Street overnight after data showed that the U.S. services sector unexpectedly shrank in November. Volumes on the index were thin as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the U.S. non-farm payrolls data at 1330 GMT. Employers are expected to have shed by 130,000 in November, after a 190,000 decline in October. "Markets will be waiting with some trepidation for the main news of the day which is the November non farm payroll figure published later on today," said Arifa Sheikh-Usmani, sales trader at Spreadex. "I would anticipate markets to be fairly sideways until that figure is published, or even weaker as people unwind positions," she said. Banks took most points from the index, with Barclays (BARC.L), HSBC (HSBA.L), Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L) off 0.5 to 2.6 percent. The price tag for bailing out UK banks has hit 850 billion pounds ($1.4 trillion) but Britain's spending watchdog says the final cost to taxpayers will not be known for years, according to the independent National Audit Office. [ID:nGEE5B20ZJ] In further woes for the sector, a survery showed that failing commercial property loans pose a growing threat to Britain's banking sector revival, after the sum of debts breaching covenants soared by 75 percent to 18.7 billion pounds in the first half of 2009 [ID:nGEE5B208G] Oil majors were on the back foot as crude prices declined to around $76 a barrel, pressured by a weak U.S. services sector and nervousness ahead of non-farm payrolls data. BG Group (BG.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Tullow Oil (TLW.L) shed 0.2 to 0.7 percent, while BP (BP.L) was flat. Mining firms were mixed as metals prices edged down and copper prices eased away from 15-month highs hit earlier in the session. Broker Nomura released a bullish note on the sector and raised the target price for several mining firms. Anglo American (AAL.L), BHP Billiton (BLT.L), Lonmin (LMI.L) and Xstrata (XTA.L) shed 0.4 to 0.9 percent. Kazakhmys (KAZ.L), Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L) rose 0.2 to 1.3 percent. BRITISH AIRWAYS ON THE RISE British Airways (BAY.L) was the top gainer on the index, up 2.1 percent, after Citigroup raised its recommendation to "buy" from "hold" and raised the firm's price target based on valuation of a merged entity with Iberia (IBLA.MC). Defensive issues also gained ground as cautious investors flocked to stocks perceived as safer bets. Drugmakers AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) were up 0.5 and 0.6 percent respectively, while British American Tobacco (BATS.L) and Imperial Tobacco (IMT.L) gained 0.3 to 0.9 percent. Utility firms Centrica (CNA.L), National Grid (NG.L), Severn Trent (SVT.L) and United Utilities (UU.L) put on 0.1 to 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, sources said Kraft Foods (KFT.N) will post its offer document to Cadbury (CBRY.L) shareholders on Friday, triggering a two-month 9.8 billion pounds takeover fight [ID:nGEE5B21LO]. Its shares were flat. Other data due later in the session are the U.S. average hourly earnings at 1330 GMT and U.S. October factory orders at 1500 GMT. No significant UK economic data is scheduled for release on Friday. ($1=.6030 pounds) (Editing by Mike Nesbit) ((harpreet.bhal@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 4533; Reuters Messaging: harpreet.bhal.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

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