* U.S. consumer woes weigh on FTSE 100
* Miners under pressure on demand concerns
* Vodafone down; to join UK iPhone battle from 2010
* Life insurers boosted by M&A talk, banks stronger
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index closed 0.1 percent lower on Tuesday as disappointing U.S. data, falls from miners and index heavyweight Vodafone outweighed buoyant financials.
The FTSE 100 closed 5.98 points, or 0.1 percent, lower at 5,159.72, after a choppy day of trading, having ended Monday's session 1.6 percent firmer.
The UK market initially drew strength from new U.S. house prices which rose for a third month in July, but this was overshadowed by U.S. consumer confidence, which fell unexpectedly in September as the worst job market in 26 years fuelled worries about personal finances.
"It did jar a bit with the contextual setting in which we've seen the more recent newsflow, and I wouldn't have thought there was much more to it than that," Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin said, referring to Tuesday's market decline.
"It's indicative of the fact that the market may be looking just for an opportunity to consolidate anyway."
The index has surged more than 49 percent since touching a six-year trough in March, though is still down 4.7 percent from just over a year ago, before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Miners were among the biggest laggards, with investors plagued by lingering concerns over the strength of demand from China after Anglo American said on Monday the country's commodities growth may ease over the short-term.
Lonmin, Randgold Resources, Anglo American, Xstrata and Rio Tinto shed 0.6 to 3.2 percent.
It was a mixed picture among oil stocks, as crude prices rose above $67 a barrel, with support coming from the dollar's fall in response to the weak U.S. consumer confidence data.
BG Group put on 0.5 percent, BP was flat, while Royal Dutch Shell shed 1.2 percent.
Real estate stocks were out of favour after Credit Suisse downgraded its view of the sector to "benchmark" from "overweight", with British Land, Hammerson and Land Securities off 1 to 2.8 percent.
Vodafone fell 2 percent. The world's largest mobile operator by revenue finally sealed a deal to sell Apple's iPhone in Britain from 2010, it said on Tuesday -- a move that could spark a price war over the popular device.
FINANCIALS IN FAVOUR
Financials were the strongest performers with banks mostly higher after French bank BNP Paribas joined a recent European rush to repay government aid from the credit crisis by launching a 4.3 billion euro ($6.3 billion) capital increase.
Barclays, Standard Chartered, Royal Bank of Scotland Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC rose between 0.4 and 1.2 percent.
Life insurers were in demand, with investors buoyed by takeover talk.
Legal & General was the top FTSE 100 riser, up 4.8 percent -- building on a 5.2 percent rise on Monday -- on more bid talk following a weekend report it has prepared a defence document against a potential bid from takeover vehicle Resolution.
The speculation saw Aviva, Standard Life, Prudential and Old Mutual add 0.3 to 3 percent. Friends Provident, also a target for Resolution, dropped 0.2 percent.
Compass was another big gainer, up 3.6 percent after the world's biggest caterer said it expected to increase full-year earnings per share by 14 percent as new business wins, cost cuts and a weak British pound helped maintain growth. (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)