UK shares slipped on Wednesday, hurt by a sell-off in mining stocks as prices of most metals continued to fall, while retailer Tesco gained following an upbeat profit forecast.
The blue-chip index FTSE 100 lost 0.4% by 0705 GMT, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was down by 0.6%.
Industrial metal miners slipped 0.9%, while precious metal miners shed 1.6%, tracking prices of metals, including copper and gold.
Tesco’s shares rose 1.3% after the country’s biggest retailer raised its annual profit forecast and signalled that food inflation would continue to fall.
Fashion retailer Superdry soared more than 17% on news that it would sell its intellectual property assets in South Asia to Reliance Retail
BP fell 0.4% after sources told Reuters the oil major is exploring the sale of a 49% stake in its U.S. oil and gas pipeline network in the Gulf of Mexico for as much as $1 billion.
Shares of Spirent Communications fell 27.6% after the telecoms testing services provider warned of lower annual profit.
Investors are awaiting readings on UK services sector activity in September, due at 0830 GMT, for clues on the health of the economy.
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