Britain's FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 fell 0.2 percent by 0850 GMT, outperforming European peers thanks to a strong update by retailer Next which helped sentiment.

In a first in more than a decade, Apple on Wednesday cut its quarterly sales target with Chief Executive Tim Cook blaming weak iPhone sales in China and consumers upgrading their iPhones at a slower pace.

Investors reacted by dumping stocks sensitive to China and to the economy.

Concerns over economic growth in top metals consumer China sent Rio Tinto, BHP and Antofagasta down 1.1 to 1.9 percent in early deals.

Crude prices fell on worries that an economic slowdown will cut into fuel demand, dragging oil majors BP and Shell  down 0.4 to 0.8 percent.

Luxury stocks, which are also highly sensitive to China, were among top fallers with Burberry down 3.2 percent.

A bright spot helping keep a lid on negative sentiment was high street clothing retailer Next, which jumped 5 percent after reporting higher sales in the run-up to Christmas, allaying fears of poor festive trading.

Next's encouraging update also boosted shares in Marks & Spencer and Primark owner Associated British Foods  up 2 to 2.8 percent, among top blue-chip winners.

Investors' flight to gold, seen as a safe haven, pushed gold prices to a six-month high and helped boost gold miner Fresnillo  up 2.3 percent.

Among small-caps, drugmaker Vectura Group soared 10.5 percent to lead FTSE small-cap gainers after saying it expects 2018 adjusted earnings to top market expectations.