London’s blue chip index continued to lose ground today despite banking shares being boosted by the news that regulators will give them more time to build up their cash buffers.
The initial deadline of 2015 to meet global liquidity standards was put back by four years after banks argued that they would be restricted from lending to the wider economy.
The FTSE 100 Index, which set a new 17-month high last week, was 25.3 points lower at 6,064.6.
Defensive stocks were among those out of favour, with National Grid down 17p to 694p and British Gas owner Centrica off 7.1p to 333.9p.
The risers board was topped by Barclays, up 10.5p to 287.2p, while Lloyds Banking Group rose 0.6p to 50.5p and Royal Bank of Scotland lifted 0.1p to 333.9p.
The other focus of the session was on the retail sector after Morrisons admitted its trading over Christmas had been disappointing. Shares were 0.8p lower at 256.1p.
In the second tier, shares in low-cost airline easyJet were 2% higher, up 19.5p to 840.5p, after the FTSE 250 Index company said it carried 4.3million passengers in December, an increase of nearly 5% on a year earlier.
The biggest FTSE 100 risers included Meggitt ahead 6.3p to 412.8p and Eurasian Natural Resources 4.6p higher at 309.2p.
Among the biggest FTSE 100 fallers were Polymetal International 23p lower at £11.51 and Fresnillo down 35p to £17.75.
Elaine McLachlan, of investment manager and financial planning specialist Brewin Dolphin in Inverness, noted that risers included Quayle Munro up 4.8% at 550p, while Plexus Holdings rose 3.1% to 260.5p.
Fallers included British Polythene, down 2.6% at 407.5p, Stagecoach Group off 2.2% at 312.3p and Superglass down 2.1% at 5.5p.