Ftse in retreat on the back of poor showing from commodity stocks
The FTSE 100 Index was down 49.5 points to 6,260.9 as mining stocks dominated the biggest fallers in the wake of weak commodity prices.
Anglo American led the market down as it failed to bounce back from last week’s slump driven by shareholder anger over executive pay at its annual general meeting.
Shares fell 53.7p (69c) to 679.1p, while BHP Billiton slipped 57.3p to 930.3p and Glencore dropped 6.8p to 155p.
Oil company BP finished down 7.9p to 360.4p, as it took a hit from Brent crude’s eight-cent slip to $45 a barrel.
Across Europe, Germany’s Dax was down 0.76 and the Cac 40 in France fell 0.52.
The pound was up more than 0.5% to 1.448 — its highest level in more than a month — amid increased confidence that Britain is likely to remain in the EU after president Barack Obama warned that it could take up to a decade to strike a trade deal with the US if Britain voted for Brexit.
Sterling was also up 0.15% against the euro at 1.285.
In stocks, retailers were on the front foot after the collapse of department store chain BHS boosted prospects for trade.
rs in the FTSE 100 Index were Imperial Brands up 109.5p to 3,681p, Berkeley Group up 85p to 2,979p, British Land Company up 18.5p to 703.5p.
