By Clare Hutchison, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Britain's benchmark stock index ended modestly lower Wednesday, keying off media reports that euro-zone officials may delay a bailout package for Greece.
The FTSE 100 /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX -0.13% closed 0.1% down at 5,892.16 to finish in the red for a second day.
London's equities exchange pulled back from earlier gains on news that euro-zone finance officials are considering delaying part or all of a second bailout for Greece. Media outlets reported Wednesday that officials could postpone the release of the 130 billion euro ($171 billion) package until after Greece's elections, which may be scheduled for as soon as April.
Officials were also said to be looking at other ways to avoid a default by Greece, including bridging loans and a private-sector voluntary debt swap. Europe weighs further Greek bailout.
Asia markets rise on Japan easing
The surprise decision by the Bank of Japan to inject new money into the No. 3 global economy could signal an end of the surging yen.
Uncertainty surrounding the status of Greece's prospective bailout countered upbeat comments from Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank. He said earlier Wednesday that China plans to expand investment in Europe.
Mining stocks slipped for a second day in London, led by Anglo American PLC /quotes/zigman/470624 UK:AAL -2.96% , down 3%. Citigroup cut its rating on Anglo American to neutral from buy, citing an unattractive valuation and operational challenges that it sees the metals miner facing.
Rio Tinto PLC /quotes/zigman/155899 UK:RIO -1.19% lost 1.2% to weigh on the FTSE 100, while BHP Billiton PLC /quotes/zigman/184879 UK:BLT -0.87% /quotes/zigman/270355/quotes/nls/bhp BHP -0.64% shed 0.9%.
Outside the mining sector, shares of telecom carrier BT Group PLC /quotes/zigman/290858 UK:BT.A -0.56% dropped 0.6%.
Media-related stocks also felt selling pressure, after Deutsche Bank adjusted its ratings on several European broadcasters, saying the sector is "now entering the underperformance phase."
Shares of ITV PLC /quotes/zigman/337392 UK:ITV -1.53% , downgraded to hold from buy, fell 1.5%. British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC /quotes/zigman/143786 UK:BSY -1.15% moved 1.2% lower.
Some oil producers struggled as oil prices rose. Cairn Energy PLC /quotes/zigman/8619072 UK:CNE -0.44% shed 0.6% and Essar Energy PLC /quotes/zigman/594661 UK:ESSR -0.87% dipped 0.9%.
BP PLC /quotes/zigman/210014 UK:BP -1.50% /quotes/zigman/247026/quotes/nls/bp BP +0.03% was also down, off 0.5%, while Royal Dutch Shell PLC /quotes/zigman/359955 UK:RDSB -1.27% gave back some of the gains it won in the previous session, retreating 1.3%. Both of the major oils reached their ex-dividend date on Wednesday.
Consumer-goods company Unilever PLC /quotes/zigman/409909 UK:ULVR -1.20% also arrived at its ex-dividend date. Unilever shares were off 0.3%.
On the positive side, banks reversed some of the prior session's losses. Barclays PLC /quotes/zigman/301787 UK:BARC +3.91% /quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs BCS +2.24% rose 2.9%, Standard Chartered PLC /quotes/zigman/22532 UK:STAN +2.21% gained 2.2% and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC /quotes/zigman/155978 UK:RBS +1.28% /quotes/zigman/530544/quotes/nls/rbs RBS +0.49% added 1.3%.
The Financial Times reported Wednesday that HSBC Holdings PLC /quotes/zigman/13843 UK:HSBA +2.56% is planning to increase its presence in mainland China. HSBC's shares traded up 2.6%.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC /quotes/zigman/126322 UK:LLOY -1.04% /quotes/zigman/255656/quotes/nls/lyg LYG -1.09% bucked the trend, losing 1% on Wednesday's session.
Aerospace and defense stocks moved higher for a second day, with BAE Systems PLC /quotes/zigman/213625 UK:BA +1.09% scoring a 1.1% gain. Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC /quotes/zigman/5147552 UK:RR +1.09% and Meggitt PLC /quotes/zigman/155169 UK:MGGT +1.50% advanced by 1.1% and 1.5%, respectively.
Microchip maker ARM Holdings PLC /quotes/zigman/254777 UK:ARM +1.37% chalked up a 1.4% gain.
Investors also digested the latest jobs data from Britain's Office for National Statistics, which showed U.K. unemployment rose by 48,000 in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 2.67 million.
The Bank of England also released its quarterly inflation report on Wednesday. The central bank said Britain's annual consumer price inflation rate is likely to fall sharply in coming months and would likely be below its 2% target for much of the two-year forecast period. Read more.
Clare Hutchison is a MarketWatch reporter, based in London.
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