London - Britain's top equity index slipped back on Tuesday after a sharp move higher in the previous session, with Glencore and other miners losing ground.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which had risen 2.8 percent on Monday, was down 0.5 percent at 6,266.50 points in early session trading.
Mining and trading giant Glencore, which fell to record lows late last month due to worries over its debts and a slowdown in the commodities sector, had risen 21 percent on Monday.
However, Glencore fell back 5.4 percent on Tuesday, along with other mining stocks, as analysts at HSBC cut their price targets on Glencore and on Antofagasta.
JNF Capital's Roderic Owen-Thomas said that while the broader mining sector was under pressure, the fact that Glencore's chief executive Ivan Glasenberg had bought more than 100 million Glencore shares last month meant Owen-Thomas saw Glencore as a worthwhile speculative buy.
“A lot of investors are getting out of the mining sector because of the concerns about slowing demand, but I'm quite keen on Glencore. You have to be prepared for a wild ride and you'd need deep pockets, though,” said Owen-Thomas.
SABMiller, which faces a possible bid from rival ABI, also fell 1.7 percent after adverse currency movements impacted its results.
The FTSE 100 is down by around 5 percent since the start of 2015, and more than 10 percent below a record high of 7,122.74 points reached in April.
REUTERS