Miners dragged down London's top flight on Tuesday as a production update from Rio Tinto PLC (LON:RIO) fuelled fears of a commodity supply glut.
Glencore PLC (LON:GLEN) was the sector's biggest loser with a 3.5% drop to 179.9p while Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) fell 3.3% to 804.4p and BHP Billiton PLC (LON:BLT) drifted 3.27% to 944.9p.
Rio Tinto subsided 3.15% to 2385p as growth in iron ore output fell from 13% year-on-year in the first quarter to 8% in the second.
But production growth accelerated in bauxite, aluminium and also copper.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: "That will do little to ease the market’s fears that key commodities could remain glutted for some time to come as fresh supply continues."
The FTSE 100 Index backtracked 23.49 points to 6671.93.
UK inflation rose more than expected to 0.5% in June from 0.3% in May, the Office for National Statistics said. Some analysts had expected 0.4%.
The ONS said the rising cost of European flights and higher oil prices were to blame for the increase, rather than the EU referendum, as it came too late to influence the figures.
Meanwhile, there was no let-up in 'Brexit' bad news as a survey from the Engineering Employers Federation showed confidence had tumbled and companies expect trading in the next six months to weaken.
In small-cap world, digital media and technology firm Milestone Group PLC (LON:MSG) ticked up 18.2% to 0.65p on news of a joint venture deal with former footballer Louis Saha's All-Stars.
Synectics PLC (LON:SNX) lifted 12% to 177.5p as the security surveillance technology developer won three contracts worth a total of about £8mln from a Las Vegas gaming operator, bus company Go-Ahead Group PLC (LON:GOG) and another unidentified train company.
But home energy efficiency group Entu (UK) plc (LON:ENTU) was 22% off at 42.5p after it warned on full-year profits.
Versarien PLC (LON:VRS) was also in the red with an 8.5% fall to 10.75p as the advanced engineering materials group blamed tough oil & gas markets for lower revenue and higher losses.
Preview at 7.33am
FTSE 100 is poised to start lower on Tuesday after closing yesterday 26 points higher at 6,685.
Spreadbetter IG Index is calling the UK benchmark to start around 22 points lower.
It comes after UK stocks were buoyed yesterday as the market was stunned by the mega -takeover deal of Britain's biggest name in the tech sector.
Cambridge based chip designer ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM), which supplies components for Apple agreed to an eye watering £23.4bn premium takeover offer from Japan's Softbank on Monday.
It sparked talk of many more takeovers coming due to the weaker pound making UK companies a bargain for overseas buyers.
On Wall Street, the Dow closed just 0.09% up and the S&P500 added 0.24%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 performed strongly, adding 1.37% to 16,723, but the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.75%.