//
At 09:45 BST the benchmark index was down 31 points to 4,789, Citywire reports.
Mining firms, insurers and banks saw the biggest drops, as investors disposed of their shares in these companies in favour of defensive stocks.
Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, Legal & General, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group were all down, along with property businesses Land Securities and British Land.
And defensive stocks rose as investors are "fleeing riskier assets and seeking safer havens", explained market strategist Joshua Raymond.
"This means the financials and miners are very weak today and the typical defensive players such as pharmaceuticals and tobacco are stronger," he stated.
Imperial Tobacco and GlaxoSmithKline were both up, while BAE Systems rose after Credit Suisse issued a note encouraging investors to buy into the company.
There were also climbs for Centrica and food services group Compass.
