Mining group Antofagasta was the heaviest faller in early morning trading, dropping by 2.5 per cent to 1,181p.

The group was reported also to have had its status downgraded by UBS. It was also downgraded by analysts at Societe Generale earlier this week.

Miner Kazakhmys also dropped 2.2 per cent to 1,397p, while Anglo American dropped by 2 per cent to 2,498.5p on the back of the same report.

At the other end of the scale, microchip manufacturer Arm Holdings was the biggest riser in early morning trading with share price increasing by 2.4 per cent to 400.2p.

Cairn Energy saw share price rise by 1.9 per cent to 456p, while real estate company Hammerson increased by 1.2 per cent to 393.9p.