The London market slipped back into the red as volatile oil prices put global stocks under pressure.
Brent crude was nearly 1% lower at 45.15 US dollars a barrel after US crude inventories rose to a record high, adding to worries over the global supply glut.
This offset some of the oil price gains seen yesterday and left the FTSE 100 Index 23.2 points lower at 6133.5.
Oil prices had jumped 3% on Tuesday after outages caused by wildfires in Canada, but oil sands production is expected to gradually ramp up.
A strong overnight finish on Wall Street did little to boost markets, with the Dax in Germany 0.6% lower and France’s Cac 40 off nearly 1%.
There was also mixed news on the UK manufacturing sector as official figures showed output rose 0.1% in March, but fell 1.9% year-on-year – the largest fall for nearly three years.
A clutch of poorly-received trading updates also hit the London market, with Thomson and First Choice owner TUI 2% lower in the top flight and bookmaker William Hill nearly 3% lower in the second tier.
TUI was 16p lower at 1052p despite narrowing interim losses to 236.9 million euro (£186 million), down from 283.1 million euro (£223 million) a year earlier. It revealed it is gearing up to sell its outdoor package provider in the UK.
The tour operator also stuck by its target to deliver underlying earnings growth of at least 10% in its current financial year, but the group is also facing concerns that the eurozone recovery may be stalling.
Banks were likewise dragging the top tier lower, with Standard Chartered and Barclays among the worst hit, down 12.4p to 483.4p and 3.2p to 160.1p respectively.
William Hill suffered hefty falls in the FTSE 250 Index after it became the latest bookmaker to reveal a hit from a string of unfavourable results.
It said net revenues slumped 3% in the first quarter as the firm saw from punters cash in on bets on Cheltenham and European football.
The figures follow a profit warning in March.
Oil services firm John Wood Group was also lower in the FTSE 250 after it warned that operating profits could plunge 20% this year as the falling price of crude continues to hit producers and explorers.
The company said that market conditions “remain challenging in 2016”, despite recent gains in the price of oil.
Shares dropped 8.5p to 609.5p.
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