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According to Bloomberg, the leading index on the British stock exchange lost 0.1 per cent to stand at 5,801.81 at 12:06 GMT.
Earlier in the day, both Standard Chartered and Associated British (AB) Foods had retreated as the former was affected by BofA Merrill Lynch downgrading the bank from neutral to buy.
This led Standard - which yesterday announced its income levels would be "broadly flat" over the next six months - to drop by 3.2 per cent to 1,751.5 pence.
But AB Foods shed 1.4 per cent following its announcement that higher commodity costs would have a negative effect on its Primark stores.
This comes after the FTSE 100 moved up 0.3 per cent around midday yesterday after both mining companies and metal prices experienced positive results, although the HMW Group paced declining shares after its first-half losses increased.
Posted by Chris Weaver
