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Fitch decreased Portugal's rating from AA to AA-, contributing to the 0.2 per cent fall seen on the FTSE by 11:38 GMT, Reuters reports.
The fall took the index to 5,663.49 points and was largely caused by dips in oil and banking stocks.
BP, Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group were down by between 0.3 per cent and 0.8 per cent and Cairn Energy shed 1.1 per cent following the gains seen yesterday after it announced its full-year results.
In the banking sector, Barclays and HSBC were both down, but a price target raise for Lloyds Banking Group from Bank of America Merrill Lynch helped Lloyds Banking Group to add 1.5 per cent.
The decline came despite stocks on European markets hitting a 17-month high this morning, with the news source reporting rises for banks such as Societe Generale and BNP Paribas.
Posted by Chris Weaver
