* Miners, oils retrace Monday's gains
* Banks weaker; RBS rallies on China sale hopes
* Vodafone lifted by JP Morgan sector upgrade
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index was down 0.4 percent mid-session on Tuesday as investors paused for breath after markets hit 10-month highs on Monday, with heavyweight miners, oils, and banks retracing recent gains.
By 1048 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was 20.00 points lower at 4,876.23 after closing 45.34 points higher on Monday, snapping a five-session winning streak.
"The FTSE has recovered some of the opening losses and seems to be plotting a course for a return to the black. Without doubt there's been a degree of consolidation taking place ... as traders regroup ahead of a possible test on the key 5,000 level," said Anthony Grech, market strategist at IG Index.
Miners led the retreat, retracing some of Monday's gains as copper prices weakened, reflecting further uncertainty over recovery in China which saw Asian markets fall.
Chilean copper miner Antofagasta was the top blue chip faller, down 3.5 percent ahead of first-half results due on Wednesday, while Eurasian Natural Resources, Kazakhmys, Xstrata , Rio Tinto, and BHP Billiton all shed 2.0 to 3.5 percent.
BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, will cut up to 70 jobs at its Mt Keith nickel mine in Australia to ensure the operation's viability, it said on Tuesday.
Oil majors were weak as crude prices eased back to $74 a barrel, with BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, and Tullow Oil down 0.2 to 0.6 percent.
Cairn Energy dropped 2.5 percent as the oil explorer said its large Indian oilfields would begin producing oil this week but warned in its half-yearly report that meeting targets for the next stages of the development was becoming "increasingly challenging".
Most banks fell as well, with Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays , Standard Chartered, and HSBC off 0.3 to 1.9 percent.
RBS ABOUT-TURN
Royal Bank of Scotland bucked the weak sector trend, however, reversing earlier falls to add 3.0 percent and topping the FTSE 100 gainers board.
Talks to sell some of RBS's Asian assets to Standard Chartered remain "in full swing", sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday after a newspaper report said they were on the rocks.
Heavyweight Vodafone was also a top blue chip riser, gaining 2.4 percent as JP Morgan upgraded its strategy stance on the European telecoms sector to "overweight", and advised exposure to the British mobile telecoms stock.
The broker said the telecoms sector is favoured by cheap valuations, increasingly stable and predictable results and seasonal trading patterns that has led it to consistently outperform in the final months of most years since 1995.
Vodafone also benefited from its perceived defensive attraction, a factor which accounted for a number of other blue-chip gainers as investors' recent risk appetite waned.
Multi-utilities United Utilities, Severn Trent, and Pennon Group stood out, up 0.2 to 0.9 percent.
Food retailers Tesco and J Sainsbury took on 0.2 and 0.8 percent, respectively, while general retailers also found support, with Marks & Spencer up 0.8 percent.
U.S. stocks were indicated modestly higher on Tuesday after ending flat in the previous session, with investors awaiting the S&P Case-Shiller U.S. home price index for June, due at 1300 GMT, and the U.S August consumer confidence report, to be released at 1400 GMT.
"Any bullish notes from New York will doubtless end up resounding in London too," said IG Index's Grech.
(Editing by John Stonestreet)