Britain's leading share index slipped 0.2 percent on Monday, weighed down by miners and real estate stocks while investors geared up for interest rate decisions in the UK and Europe later this week.
Equities markets also took their cue from an 8 percent slump in Chinese shares as investors continued to fret about last week's hike in China's tax on stock trading in order to cool a market that had nearly tripled in value in the past year.
The FTSE 100 closed down 12.6 points at 6,664.1, supported by oil shares. European shares also finished lower. "It's a combination of things," a trader said. "If China starts to slide further, the profit-taking that we are seeing is going to spiral into something more significant. With the interest rates coming this week, everybody is a bit nervous."
Miners took a beating because of the gloom in commodities-hungry China. Anglo American dipped 1.2 percent, Kazakhmys shed 0.9 percent and Lonmin lost 1.6 percent. Oil shares, however, were the biggest winning sector as Brent crude resumed its climb above $69 a barrel, supported by output disruptions in Nigeria that have tightened supplies of light crude, which is in heavy demand in the summer to make gasoline. Index heavyweight BP added 0.5 percent, and Royal Dutch Shell rose 0.6 percent.
As for interest rate decisions, the European Central Bank is widely expected to raise rates to 4 percent on Wednesday, while economists expect the Bank of England to leave rates unchanged this month but say that a surprise cannot be ruled out.
The BoE raised rates to 5.5 percent last month, and a Reuters poll published in late May shows there is a near one-in-three chance that British rates will hit 6 percent this year. Rate-sensitive property stocks fell ahead of the BoE meeting, with Hammerson losing 1.7 percent and both Land Securities and British Land down 1.6 percent.
Lenders also eased, with Bradford & Bingley shedding 1.1 percent, HBOS down 0.5 percent and Northern Rock dipping 0.8 percent. But Royal Bank of Scotland bucked the trend, adding 1 percent after sources familiar with the situation said the bank put its Southern Water business up for sale for around 4 billion pounds ($8 billion). The lender is also due to issue a trading statement on Tuesday.
Shire gained 1.2 percent to top the FTSE 100 gainers as investors in the pharmaceutical sector looked for alternatives to GlaxoSmithKline, which was off 0.1 percent.
GlaxoSmithKline has lost nearly 12 percent since May 21, when US researchers said its diabetes drug Avandia raised the risk of heart attacks and death.
Financial information and news provider Reuters tacked on 0.8 percent after Lehman Brothers upgraded its price target on the stock to 660 pence from 550 pence.