MORNING REPORT: Headline shares were firmly lower in early deals today as resources stocks tumbled on falling oil and metal futures, with investors also spooked by the latest problems in Euroland, and ahead of UK inflation data.
At 8:30am, the FTSE100 was down 59.75 points at 5,760.66 with the FTSE250 off 38.6 points at 10,884.6 and the FTSE Smallcaps 1.18 points lower at 3,050.3.
Weakening oil and copper futures sent resources issues tumbling this morning, dragging the main index in London firmly into the red.
Financial issues also sank as investors fret over the growing sovereign debt problems in the Eurozone.
Kazakhmys was the worst blue chip performer early on, tumbling 57p at 1,457p, while Antofagasta lost 42p at 1,396p and Rio Tinto slumped 116p at 4,213.5p.
Oil producers fell as crude eased towards £52.51 a barrel, with Shell off 18p at 1,997p, BP down 3.25p at 445.45p and BG Group 12.5p weaker at 1,244p, while Tullow Oil gave back 19p at 1,234p.
The financial list was also shrouded in red, with the banks led lower by Standard Chartered, down 43p at 1,858.5p, hit by concerns over growth slowdowns in Asia. Lloyds lost 1.34p at 68.53p and Barclays slipped 3.7p at 278.75p.
A 12.4% rise in underlying pre-tax profits was not enough to save commercial property firm British Land from suffering a loss of 8.6p at 498.4p.
Retailers also found it tough going as a strong profit performance at luxury brand Burberry was shrugged aside. Burberry shares dropped 4p at 1,016p, while fashion house Next lost 10p at 2,147p and M&S eased 5.2p at 398.7p.
Other notable casualties included household goods giant Reckitt Benckiser, 23p lower at 3,504p, industrial pump maker Weir Group, off 18p at 1,688p, and global brewer SABMiller, down 10p at 2,020p.
On the limited upside with blue chips, chip designer ARM Holdings topped the leaderboard, ahead 7.4p at 359p, while can maker Rexam rose 2.9p at 313.9p after an in-line trading update.
Rolls-Royce rallied 2.5p at 599.5p as investors thought the worst was over following its Trent engine problems.
The gainers list was completed by outsourcing firm Capita, up 6.5p at 738p, satellite operator Inmarsat, ahead 3.5p at 675.5p, and software house Autonomy, 3p better at 1,412p.
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