* FTSE 100 down 0.9%, FTMC down 0.8%

* Tesco ( TSCDF ) falls on weak Q1 sales growth

* Intertek ( IKTSF ) up after agreeing EQT takeover

* BoE holds rate steady as expected

(Updates after BoE decision; adds details, and analyst

comments)

June 18 (Reuters) - UK's main stock indexes retreated on

Thursday, pressured by miners and financials, after the Bank of

England held steady on interest rates, while the Federal

Reserve's hawkish stance also weighed on sentiment.

The BoE kept rates on hold at 3.75% as widely expected, with

only two of the nine member committee voting in favour of a rate

hike amid persistent inflation concerns.

The U.S. Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged on Wednesday,

though nine Fed policymakers projected a rate hike this year.

"The conditions don't seem in place for sustained

inflationary pressure. So we think the BoE will be able to avoid

the kind of monetary tightening that the European Central Bank

has already started to deliver and that the Fed hinted at last

night," said Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist, at

Aberdeen.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.87% to 10,416.89

points by 1345 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 slipped

0.8%.

* Precious metal miners declined the most, as

gold and silver prices eased. Fresnillo and Hocschild

Mining fell 6% and 8%, respectively.

* London Stock Exchange ( LDNXF ) fell 5.8% after Rothschild

Redburn downgraded the stock to "neutral", while investment firm

3i Group ( TGOPF ) declined 4%.

* Rate-sensitive homebuilders shed 2.4%, with

Persimmon falling 6.2%, among the worst performers on

the benchmark.

* Heavyweight banks were least impacted, with

HSBC ( HSBC ) and Barclays ( BCS ) down marginally at 0.2%

each.

* UK's biggest food retailer Tesco ( TSCDF ) slipped 1.6%

after reporting a slowdown in first-quarter sales growth.

* Intertek ( IKTSF ) gained 1.5% after the testing and

certification firm agreed to a takeover by Swedish private

equity firm EQT

* The world's largest exhibition group Informa ( IFPJF ) was

the top performer on FTSE 100, rising 2.5% after forecasting

stronger growth in 2027.

* Oil giants BP and Shell declined 1.6%

each, as oil prices reached to their lowest since start of Iran

war.