FTSE100 closed down around 28 points as small cap shares outshone their bigger cousin.
The UK benchmark closes at 6,381 as traders mulled worse-than-expected UK retail sales data the ECB move to keep its interest rate and asset purchase programme as was.
Miners were down with Anglo American (LON:AAL) the biggest laggard, with Sky (LON:SKY), also shedding 4.18% to 985p as the group revealed that its turnover of customers had increased amid growing competition from the likes of BT (LON:BT.A).
Sky won fewer new customers in the latest quarter than it had in the preceding three months, but boosted revenue by 5% to £8.7bn in the nine months to March.
The big small cap winner was Strategic Minerals (LON:SML), up 38.71% to 0.22p as the miner revealed planning of the maiden drilling programme at Hanns Camp nickel-copper sulphide prospect in Australia was underway.
Hanns Camp forms part of the Laverton Project, in which Strategic has a stake via its acquisition of up to half of Central Australian Rare Earths. The shares soared 0.06p, or 38.7%, to 0.22p.
Other junior miners were also doing well. Copper miner Weatherly International (LON:WTI) gained over 23% on the day to 0.65p each.
Oil stocks were not so slick.
US onshore focused Northcote Energy (LON:NCT) fell 25% to 0.04p after it completed a placing of 1.59mln shares at 0.0315p to raise £500,000.
It will use the cash to complete the Mayan Drilling Fluids remediation plant while keeping adequate working capital and flexibility to consider other strategic opportunities.
But Range Resources (LON:RRL) spurted almost almost 24% higher to 0.57p on news that it had found oil-bearing zones in the first of four development wells to be drilled in Trinidad.