LONDON: Britain's top share index slipped lower on Monday, weighed down by a drop in major mining stocks which were impacted by a broker's downgrade on the sector. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.6 percent to 6,676.56 points in early session trading. The FTSE is up around 1.5 percent since the start of 2015 but is some 6 percent below an April record high of 7,122.74 points.
"There does seem to be a certain lack of bullish conviction in respect of UK markets at the moment," said Brenda Kelly, analyst at London Capital Group.
Miners, which account for around a tenth of the FTSE 100 in terms of market capitalisation, dominated the index's list of worst-performing stocks, with Anglo American falling 2.6 percent while BHP Billiton declined 2.4 percent.
Broker Investec downgraded several stocks in the sector and cut its commodity price forecast due to weakness in demand from China, the world's biggest metals consumer.
Shares in Dixons Carphone also fell 1.2 percent after the electrical goods and mobile phone retailer said the personal data of up to 2.4 million of its customers may have been exposed in a cyber attack.
Among mid caps, insurance company Esure dropped 9.3 percent after its interim results marginally missed analysts' consensus forecast.
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