* FTSE 100 off 0.4 percent; Egypt turmoil unsettles investors
* Travel firms fall on travel disruption, higher oil price
* Risk-sensitive banks are sharp fallers
* Rexam star performer on Americas deals boost
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell on Monday as political turmoil in Egypt unsettled investors, with travel firms and banks among the laggards, while energy firms limited losses.
By 1225 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was down 23.41 points, or 0.4 percent, at 5,857.96, having recovered from a low of 5,815.44 hit earlier in the session.
The index shed 1.4 percent on Friday.
"It's surprising that it's bounced back given the problems that are coming out of Egypt," Manoj Ladwa, senior trader at ETX Capital, said.
"What we did see was that there was some tentative buying in the indices in the hope of a bounce ... when (the FTSE 100) gets up to 5,900 we could see some more profit taking on board."
Protesters intensified their campaign on Monday to force Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak to quit as world leaders struggled to find a solution to a crisis that has torn up the Middle East political map.
Travel firms were among the worst hit on London's blue chip index, with traders citing the travel disruption caused by the protests and a firmer oil price.
Tour operator TUI Travel and International Consolidated Airlines Group, the company formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, shed 2.9 percent and 1.5 percent respectively.
On the second tier, Thomas Cook dropped 2.2 percent.
"Egypt has been a successful destination for tourists, and though Egypt and Tunisia combined would account for only 10 percent of travel operators' earnings, they are being hit by risk aversion," said Matthias Desmarais, head of leisure and services at Exane BNP Paribas in Paris.
OIL STOCKS LIMIT LOSSES
Energy stocks were in demand, limiting the FTSE 100's losses, with the oil price supported by fears the unrest in Egypt could spread across a region that produces over a third of the world's oil.
BG Group rose 2.6 percent, extending its recent gains after an oil find in Brazil, as it said it has suspended drilling in Egypt, but gas production remained as normal.
Royal Dutch Shell, up 0.5 percent, was helped by an upgrade to "outperform" from "neutral" by Credit Suisse.
BP bucked the firmer sector trend, shedding 0.5 percent, ahead of its fourth-quarter results on Tuesday.
There were concerns over BP's dividend, as Russian shareholders in its TNK joint venture convened to consider withholding the $1.8 billion payment.
Risk sensitive banks, meanwhile, were sharp fallers.
Among individual movers, Rexam grabbed the top spot on the blue chip leader board, up 2.9 percent, after the drinks can maker completed contract negotiations in North America and signed a long-term contract with its largest customer in Brazil.
International Power fell 2.1 percent as Credit Suisse downgraded the firm to "underperform" from "outperform" on valuation grounds following its tie-up with French utility GDF Suez.
"I think a lot of the risk from the Egypt situation was priced in to a certain extent" Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets, said.
"But I think the upside in equity markets is going to remain a little bit limited in the short term while that situation continues to bubble under the surface," he said. (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)