* Oil majors retreat as crude prices fall 4 percent
* Miners weak on lower commodity prices * Investors await conclusion of U.S. Fed meeting
By Harpreet Bhal
LONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index closed lower on Wednesday as falling commodity prices stung oil firms and miners while investors stayed cautious ahead of the conclusion of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting.
The FTSE 100 ended 0.1 percent, or 3.23 points, lower at 5,139.37, erasing gains from earlier in the session as shares on Wall Street fell and oil and metals prices retreated across the board.
The Fed's statement was due at 1815 GMT. Economists expect the central bank to hold rates at close to zero and investors will look for any hint of how it plans to withdraw from programmes that have pumped trillions of dollars into the banking system.
Oil majors took the most points off the index as crude prices fell more than $3 on data showing a large rise in U.S. crude stocks. BG Group, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Tullow Oil shed between 0.2 and 1.6 percent.
"There is a bit of technical selling going on. The market has made three attempts to making new highs and each attempt has failed and it looks like the sell-off has followed through now," said Angus Campbell, head of sales at Capital Spreads.
"As we come into the end of the third quarter the markets have made such good gains that there's bound to be a bit of profit taking at some stage," he said.
Miners were in the doldrums as metals prices were in negative territory on demand worries. Antofagasta, Eurasian Natural Resources, Lonmin and BHP Billiton lost 1 to 2 percent.
Among other standout losers, Liberty International dropped 10 percent after Britain's largest shopping mall owner launched a placing of 56.1 million new shares. KBC Peel Hunt wrote in a note to clients that other UK real estate firms could follow suit.
British Land, Hammerson and Land Securities, all cited as possible candidates for share placings in the KBC Peel Hunt note, fell 1.4 to 4.5 percent.
Meanwhile ex-dividend factors knocked 1.94 points off the index, with Aviva, Centrica, G4S and Petrofac all losing their dividend payout.
Earlier in the session, minutes of the Bank of England's Sept. 9-10 Monetary Policy Committee meeting showed members voted unanimously to keep the volume of quantitative easing at the 175 billion pounds agreed in August.
Data showed British banks approved 81.4 percent more home purchase loans in August than the same month a year ago but consumer credit abd demand for re-mortgaging remained subdued, the British Bankers Association said.
DEFENSIVES STRONGER
Among FTSE gainers, defensive stocks, perceived as safer, were higher as risk aversion took hold. Satellite operator Inmarsat rose 2.5 percent, while mobile telecommunications firm Vodafone put on 1.3 percent.
Imperial Tobacco gained 1.3 percent, drawing strength from a price target hike by Natixis to 2,075 pence from 1,935 pence. British American Tobacco was 1.1 percent higher.
Burberry rose 5.4 percent, bolstered by recent bullish comments from its chief executive Angela Ahrendts, which added to the positive buzz surrounding the luxury goods retailer, analysts said.