LONDON: Britain's stock market fell for the sixth session in a row on Thursday as a slump in Sports Direct and financial services group Old Mutual weighed on the market.
However, miner Glencore surged on debt reduction plans, helping to lift other mining stocks. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down by 0.4 percent at 6,104.49 points by the middle of the trading session.
The index had been down by 0.5 percent but it clawed back some ground after minutes showed that the Bank of England (BoE) voted overwhelmingly at its last meeting to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent.
Sports Direct was the worst-performing FTSE stock in percentage terms, slumping 12.8 percent after its first-half earnings missed market expectations.
The company also defended its treatment of workers on Thursday after a newspaper report said security checks of staff left some earning less than legal levels.
"Sports Direct has been hurt by slightly missing half-year expectations and by a growing scandal over its workplace practices," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.
Old Mutual, which has a big business in South Africa, also dropped down by 10.8 percent after South Africa's finance minister was sacked.
Glencore outperformed, with its shares rising by more than 10 percent as it unveiled new plans to cut its debt.
Nevertheless, Glencore shares remain down by around 70 percent since the start of 2015 due to lingering concerns over its debt burden and falling commodity prices.
The FTSE hit a record high of 7,122.74 points in April but has since steadily lost ground, due partly to worries about a slowdown in China, the world's second biggest economy.
The FTSE is down 7 percent since the start of 2015.
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