FTSE 100 logs first weekly drop in five as miners retreat

Aug 14 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 closed lower on Friday as miners retreated alongside a dip in copper prices, though software and data companies rebounded after the report of a large deal in the sector. 

The blue-chip FTSE 100 dipped 0.2% to 10,750.11 points to register its first weekly decline since early July. The midcap FTSE 250 edged up 0.1% to 24,867.42 points, ending the week largely flat.

• Shares of miner Antofagasta dropped almost 4.6%, down sharply for the second consecutive day after its production outlook disappointed on Thursday and copper prices fell after a recent rally. [MET/L]

• The FTSE 350 industrial metal and mining index registered a 4.1% drop this week, marking its weakest weekly performance since late June.

• Among gainers, shares of Sage Group, Experian and RELX climbed 1.4% to 4.4%, respectively, after Reuters reported private equity firm Silver Lake was in talks to acquire U.S. software firm Workday, lifting the sector.

• Global stocks traded just below record highs as benign U.S. inflation data this week tempered expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes this year.

• Still, a lack of progress towards a lasting peace deal between the United States and Iran has weighed on sentiment and kept crude prices on track for weekly gains. [O/R]

• Transit through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to grind to a near standstill after two more ships were attacked there and the United States said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely.

• Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill told the Wall Street Journal that stronger-than-expected British economic growth figures reinforced the case for higher borrowing costs to bring inflation back to target, after data showed a surprise 0.3% rise in the UK's gross domestic product in June.

• Traders expect at least one 25-basis-point rate hike from the BoE by the end of this year, according to LSEG-compiled data.

• Ladbrokes owner Entain rose 2.1% as it beat first-half profit expectations, while identity technology company GB Group sank nearly 31%, its steepest one-day fall ever, after cutting its annual revenue growth forecast.

(Reporting by Anand Gopal and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)