LONDON: UK shares fell on Tuesday, giving up early gains after a drop in commodity-related shares intensified and banks turned lower following the Bank of England's latest financial stability report.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 10.53 points, or 0.2 percent at 6,095.95 points by 1127 GMT.
The top fallers were mining companies, with Glencore , Antofagasta, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton all down between 2.2 percent 3.8 percent, tracking a dip in the price of copper.
Metal prices fell after the dollar strengthened ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen who could signal interest rate hikes later this year.
Oil and gas stocks also took a hit after Brent crude fell over 2.5 percent, below $40 a barrel. In all, energy and basic material shares trimmed 16 points off the FTSE 100.
Bank shares turned lower after opening the session with gains.
The banking sector fell 0.7 percent after the central bank said the outlook for financial stability had worsened since its last quarterly report in November, and it also moved ahead with plans to require some banks to hold extra capital as lending growth started to pick up.
Some financials managed gains, however, with insurance stocks in demand. Both Deutsche Bank and Barclays raised their target prices on RSA Insurance, sending its shares up 0.9 percent.
Aviva and Standard Life also both gained.
"Those moving higher, Aviva, Standard Life, (are) the usual suspects where the yield play is concerned so there seems to be the end of the month bounce coming through in these stocks," Chris Beauchamp, analyst at IG, said.
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