Early trading saw the FTSE 100 fall after reaching a 12-month high on Monday.
A slew of results are expected from US companies in the mining sector and nervous investors have shaved 15.59 points (0.3%) from the blue chip index, which now stands at 5,194.20.
With metal prices coming off a peak, miners Randgold, Lonmin, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto have all seen share prices fall. Lonmin was down nearly 2% to £15.77.
The morning's top gainer however, was hotel and restaurant operator Whitbread after its half-year profits beat expectations, with its Costa Coffee brand performing well. Whitbread was up 2.95% to £13.28.
Banks shares fell this morning, with Lloyds Banking Group down 3.54% as the market continues to mull rights issue rumours. Barclays joined its government-owned rival, shedding 2.11% to 364.80p.
In the US, the Dow Jones closed up 20.86 points (0.2%) at 9,885.8, while the S&P 500 rose 4.7 points to 1,076.19, the Nasdaq was down 0.01% points to 2,139.14. With much of the US celebrating Columbus Day, trading was light and the bond markets were closed.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% to 1076.56 yen on Tuesday morning, cheered by exporters after foreign markets made hay over Japan's holiday weekend.
