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According to Reuters, the FTSE 100 decreased at 5,735.96 despite gaining by 1.5 per cent yesterday and closing at its best level since April, helped by Federal Open Mark Committee minutes that pointed to further quantitative easing.
The news provider noted that the slight fall was due to banks retreating, which overshadowed some miners' strengths in the shape of Xstrata - up by 1.2 per cent - and Lonmin, adding 0.7 per cent.
Metal prices were also up, helped partly due to the weak dollar, as copper reached a 27-month high.
In addition, there were stronger-than-expected rises from JP Morgan Cazenove and Intel, plus Vodafone experienced an increase after an upgrade from Nomura.
However, there was bad news for African Barrick Gold, which decreased by 7.8 per cent after it discovered theft at its new Buzwagi mine and suspended 40 per cent of its staff at the facility, Reuters reported.
Posted by Greg Secker
