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A number of groups dragged on Britain's top share index, as BP lost two per cent of its share value following a hearing on how lawsuits relating to the oil spill should be carried out, Reuters revealed.
Royal Dutch Shell - which relinquished ground yesterday in the wake of its second-quarter results - shed a further 0.2 per cent, adding to energy groups' woes.
Weakness in US and Asian markets was also marked with stock market traders' appetite for risk down in the face of negative expectations for GDP figures.
Giles Watts, head of equities at City Index, confirmed: "What we are seeing is nervousness ahead of the big data out in the U.S. later today."
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.1 per cent yesterday, following an overall loss of 0.9 per cent on Wednesday.
Posted by Greg Secker
