The FTSE 100 moved slightly lower in afternoon trading as double-dip fears persisted on the back of negative housing market data.
The index fell 24.73 points or 0.53% to 5,176, as it was reported mortgage lending had fallen to its fourth lowest level on record and commentators warned of another housing market crash.
InterContinental Hotels led the laggards on the FTSE, down 3.46% to 977p.
Other fallers were business services firm Serco Group, down 3.02%; generator supplier Aggreko; and Aviva, down 2.04%. Eurasian Natural Resources was among several miners that slid downwards today, losing 2.22% to reach 837.5p per share.
Among the winners today were technology group ARM Holdings, leading the strongest stocks with a gain on 4.14%; healthcare firm Reckitt Benckiser, and Royal Bank of Scotland.
In Europe, the German Dax was down 0.76% this afternoon, while the French Cac 40 slid 0.94%.
US markets opened fairly flat as investors remained fearful about the prospects for economic recovery. The Dow Jones fell 0.35% shortly after markets opened, while the Nasdaq was 0.47% down, but both just returned to positive territory in early trading.
Figures from the Chicago purchasing managers' index showed a decline in productivity in July, from 62.3% to 56.7%, although this was widely expected and the actual number was slightly better than consensus, so stocks were largely unaffected.
