LONDON: British shares retreated on Friday as miners pushed the blue-chip FTSE 100 index into negative territory following weak Chinese industrial data which reignited concerns over China's economic slowdown.
Chinese industrial profits fell 4.6 percent in October, declining for the fifth month in a row, while leading Chinese shares ended the session over 5 percent lower, also hit by a new regulatory crackdown.
The FTSE 350 mining index was the main sectoral decliner, falling 3.7 percent with Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Antofagasta and Glencore all down between 3 percent and 4 percent.
Miner Anglo American hit a record low and finished 8.2 percent weaker after saying that it would close its Drayton coal mine in Australia after a state panel recommended that the government should block an expansion of the mine.
"It's miners who lie at the other end of the board, with Anglo American finding fresh lows as investors become increasingly concerned as to how the company can dig itself out of the current financial situation," Tony Cross, analyst at Trustnet Direct, said.
The benchmark FTSE 100 index closed 0.3 percent lower at 6,375.15 points, while trading volumes were just 61 percent of their 90-day daily average due to a short trading day in the United States following the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
However, defence stocks Rolls-Royce and Babcock were also in positive territory, advancing about 1 percent with analysts citing global security concerns as pushing the shares higher.
"All this geopolitical tension is helping these defence stocks, and the fact that they are going to increase the anti-terrorist spend is aiding and abetting these moves upwards," London Capital Group analyst Brenda Kelly said.
Among mid-caps, utility company Pennon Group rose 5.6 percent after reporting a 7 percent rise in first-half pretax profit.
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