LONDON: Britain's top share index hit a one-week low on Monday, led by sharp falls in mining companies and oil and gas stocks as investors voiced concerns about whether commodities-related assets could sustain a recent rally.
Miners have rallied since the end of January, with the sector gaining over 60 percent, but persistent concerns about an economic slowdown in China, the world's biggest metals consumer, have made investors sceptical about further gains.
"There's a little bit of trepidation now as to how confident people are in emerging markets," Augustin Eden, research analyst at Accendo Markets, said.
"A lot of this rally has been built on renewed confidence in China and maybe a feeling that, fundamentally, the declines we have seen up until the end of January were potentially overdone," he added, saying investors had been taking profits.
The mining index fell 4.6 percent, its biggest one-day loss in more than a month, with Anglo American, BHP Billiton , Rio Tinto, Glencore and Antofagasta dropping between 2.0 percent and 7.3 percent as the price of industrial metals such as copper fell.
Oil companies also weighed on the index, with both BP and Royal Dutch Shell down 2.2 percent and 3 percent respectively after the price of oil declined. The UK oil and gas index was down 2.8 percent.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.8 percent lower at 6,260.92 points after falling up to 6,249.34, its lowest since the middle of this month and further away from this year's high of 6,427.32 scaled on Thursday.
On the positive side, tobacco-maker Imperial Brands benefited from a broker upgrade from Goldman Sachs, which raised its rating on the stock to "buy" from "neutral", sending the shares up 3.1 percent.
Outside the blue chips, clothing retailer Ted Baker climbed 6.4 percent after Jefferies upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold" partly on valuation grounds. It also cited a healthy order book, differentiated business model and continued international expansion.
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