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According to Reuters, the London index slid 0.23 per cent - or ten points - to 7,437.15 at 11:30 BST, despite financial institutions and mining companies gaining.
Intertek and Land Securities saw the largest drops, declining by 3.47 per cent and 3.27 per cent respectively.
At the other end of the market, reports that Barclays may seek to sell its Global Investors asset management business caused the bank's share price to climb 8.1 per cent, while mining firm Vedanta Resources rose to 1,342p per share, adding 90 points.
Market strategist Joshua Raymond explained that trading volumes have "remained tight" during the morning session of stock market trading, but are expected to improve in the afternoon.
"Clients have been trading the long and the short side over the last 24 hours without much conviction," he remarked.
